Children of War
by the-purple-black
Summary: A promise made by Bellatrix to the Dark Lord seemed unimportant at the time, though years later it seems her loyalty must be put to the test. - Rated M for future chapters and to be on the safe side.
1. Loyal

**So, this story may have been sitting on my laptop for some time now. I have gone back and forth trying to work out the logistics of it, trying to decide if it would work, trying to decide if I should do it . . . but clearly I decided I am a glutton for punishment and have decided to start a brand new, multi-part, big old story. I have Trixie Black Lestrange to blame/thanks for this, giving me one small riddle that spurred a bloody breakthrough on figuring out the logistics of this.**

 **Anyway, as always, please read, enjoy and leave a review if you have a moment!**

 **The Purple Black**

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Bellatrix Lestrange was nothing if not loyal. She lived her life, not for herself, but was unashamed and even proud to declare that her life was that of her master's; she belonged to the Dark Lord and the Dark Lord alone. Not even her own husband had control over her. She had once sworn as a child that no man (or woman for that matter) would ever control her, she was a wild spirit, her personality like that of an uncontrollable fire. She was unpredictable, wild, running her course only where and when she saw fit. That was until she had discovered _him_. Unlike the many before him Lord Voldemort did not try to put out her fire, he nurtured it, encouraged it, threw every last thing at her to build her strength and let her run her course. He understood her. She found herself bending to his whim without question, following every last order like it was the last thing in the world she was about to do. She loved every minute of it. There was only one thing that he asked of her; her unquestionable, undying, fierce loyalty.

As she lay in her marital bed, listening to the soft breaths of her husband laying sleeping beside her, _he_ was all she could think about. She had served him well for so long now, though she still remembered her early days within his ranks as if they were yesterday . . .

 _"Get up!" The Dark Lord hissed, narrowing his eyes at the young girl slouched against the wall._

 _Bellatrix Black held back the hiss of pain, pushing out with her legs as she forced herself up the wall to stand. She hissed as she unintentionally moved her left arm. She knew there was blood on her dress, she didn't need the sharp sensation coursing suddenly like fire in her veins to know there was dark magic coursing through her arm. It was her own fault. She should have been faster. Her eyes locked with the man now standing mere feet from her, her whole body ached terribly, her feet felt like led, her hair was wild and unkempt, she knew her arm was not the only place where she had spilt blood. They had already been duelling for hours but she kept going;_ because he asked her to _. He had given her plenty an opportunity to stop and lick her wounds but she had persisted. She may have been young but she was not naïve enough to not realise the great honour that was bestowed upon her in being trained directly by The Dark Lord himself._

 _A small shadow of a smirk passed his lips and Bellatrix could not help but return it. Without warning she pushed herself away from the wall, firing a curse at the man and almost expertly dancing away as he tried to retaliate to her attempt to win their never-ending duel. But the day had been a long one and there was not a chance that a teenaged Bellatrix Black would ever win a duel against her master. They danced their way around the room, a flurry of spells exchanging between the pair as she held her ground as best as she could. A yell of triumph escaped the girl, though quickly the temporary look of glee on her face was replaced with wide-eyed horror as she saw the small cut she had made on her master's face._

 _Time seemed to stop for Bellatrix Black. The Dark Lord tilted his head slightly, raising one of his long fingers to his cheek as he paused for a moment before wiping the small graze. He drew back his hand, inspecting the blood on his fingers as if curious as to how it had gotten there._

 _"My Lord . . ." Bellatrix breathed._

 _He looked to her, a small breath of amusement passing his lips much to the girls confusion before without warning he uttered what he knew to be her favourite curse. She fell to the floor instantly, though she gripped onto her robes tightly, unable to sense the pains of her wounds as the intensity of the Cruciatus Curse coursed through every inch of her body. She barely realised when it was lifted, her body twitching unwillingly against the residual magic. She hadn't realised her master walking over to her, looking through the man as her vision was clouded she could only let out a small groan as she was pulled to her feet. She steadied herself, trying not to sway on the spot as she tried to regain her senses. She dared not to move as she felt her master's wand on her arm, her brow furrowed in confusion as she felt the pain in her arm lift. She stood there in obedient silence as one by one her hurts were remedied. It was only as the man lifted his hand to his own face, the cut on his face disappeared though the blood remained._

 _"My Lord . . ." Bellatrix breathed again, biting her lip slightly as the man reached out and placed his bloodstained fingers upon her to lift her chin towards him._

 _"You have done well . . ." Lord Voldemort murmured, "Though you stopped . . ."_

 _"I—" Bellatrix winced as he made a slight shushing motion with his lips._

 _"You show great promise, Bellatrix Black," he breathed, letting his touch linger on the girl for a moment before he stepped away. His tone changed as he walked towards the large throne-like chair within the otherwise cleared room. "Though, I hear you are no longer to be a Black. Is this correct?"_

 _Bellatrix couldn't help but blush slightly, looking down at the floor for a few moments before she gathered her senses and looked to see her seated master curiously raising an eyebrow at her in questioning. "Yes, My Lord." She nodded, "I am to marry Rodolphus Lestrange."_

 _"When?" he asked._

 _"A week after my nineteenth birthday, My Lord," she said, "In a month's time."_

 _"Rodolphus . . ." Voldemort mused, "he is a good servant, a warrior . . . Do you wish to marry him?"_

 _"My father—"_

 _"I know of your ways, Bellatrix, of_ your family's ways _," Voldemort said, "I did not ask why you are to marry him. I asked if you_ want to _."_

 _Bellatrix took a moment's pause. She had known Rodolphus Lestrange for as long as she could remember. He was a respectable pureblood man, one whose family was just as ancient and noble as The House of Black, she knew why their parents had arranged their marriage. Although she was unsure of the match for some time, ever willing to find a way to rebel against her father's wishes, she had to admit she had grown rather fond of him. They had spent some time together both in and out of Hogwarts, learning about each other, even sharing secrets with the man she had only ever confided in her sisters about and it was more than true that they had gotten up to various things together both as Death Eater's and as if they were already a married couple. He had brought her to The Dark Lord. Though she knew he had possibly fallen for her far more than she had him, she knew her middle sister had been correct in telling her that they were the best possible match for each other._

 _She nodded. "I must marry," Bellatrix said carefully, "and if I must marry . . . and he is the only choice put before me, then I choose him."_

 _The Dark Lord gave a small nod, summoning the girl towards him he could not help but smirk as she practically ran to kneel at his feet. He considered the girl as he brushed the wild curls from her face, not missing the small shudder his touched caused in the girl._

 _"You are to marry him," he mused as he let his hand rest on her curls, "expected to play the dutiful little wife. Run a household . . . bare his children to carry on the line . . ._ serve _him."_

 _"I serve only you, My Lord," Bellatrix insisted as she looked into her master's eyes, as if inviting him to read her thoughts and look for a lie that was not there._

 _"You will become distracted," Voldemort sighed, letting go of the girl and sitting back in his chair, "you will fall into the ways of a pureblood wife and attempt to shirk your responsibilities to me . . . I cannot have that Bellatrix."_

 _"I won't!" Bellatrix pleaded, grasping onto the man's robes as she looked up to him wide-eyed, "I serve only you, My Lord."_

 _"It will change Bellatrix," Voldemort rolled his eyes, hiding his amusement at the girl's reaction expertly, "you will bend to his whim and give him children, become distracted by the little brats."_

 _"I won't," Bellatrix shook her head frantically._

 _"You won't have children?" The Dark Lord raised his eyebrows at the girl, leaning forward slightly and returning his gentle touch to her hair, "You would forgo that distraction?"_

 _"I—" Bellatrix paused, distracted by his touch and her thoughts. She had never been particularly obsessed with the idea of having children, unlike her youngest sister Narcissa she had not seen the appeal in being the dutiful wife caring for babies and running a home . . . but she had always assumed that was where her life would go, had even had small discussions with Rodolphus on the matter that had almost made her truly want that life. However, there were many things that she had assumed would happen in her life, boring things, expected things, The Dark Lord had shown her she was both capable and able to do so much more than what she thought she was bound to do. She gave a small nod, "If that is what you wish, My Lord."_

 _The Dark Lord smirked, taking the girls hand and gently pulling her to stand, looking deeply into her dark eyes, "It would please me, Bella . . . Assure me of your loyalty . . ."_

 _"I am loyal," Bellatrix nodded, "I am devoutly loyal. I won't become distracted by such nonsense, I swear it. I won't have his children."_

 _"Good . . ." The Dark Lord murmured, hooking a finger under the girl's chin as he drew her to be mere inches from his own. His finger traced her full red lips, "You please me, Bellatrix . . ."_

 _"My Lord . . ." Bellatrix breathed as the man slowly leant down towards her . . ._

She squeezed her eyes shut, unable to stare at the emerald green canopy hanging above her any longer. It had been many years since that particular event, though she still remembered it as vividly as she ever had done. She had sworn to The Dark Lord she would be loyal to only him, to always answer only his bidding and not do anything but what he had asked of her. She had done that for so many years, never once giving him any excuse to doubt her loyalty to him.

Her husband turned beside her and she turned her head to see his eyes partially open.

"Bella?" Rodolphus mumbled sleepily.

She hesitated for a moment, turning onto her side and letting the man place an arm around her torso, "Go to sleep, Rod," she whispered.

He sighed as he leant down and kissed her curls, closing his eyes as the man almost immediately fell back to sleep as his wife commanded. She wished it was that easy for her. She could not bring herself to think of anything but how she had failed her master, her mind racing with the possibilities of what would happen, what he would do, what she should do. The sun was almost up when Bellatrix Lestrange finally found some form of rest, more thoughts and memories intruding her dreams. Her sleep was restless, the dark witch too distracted by the plethora of emotions running through her as even in her sleep her hand lay almost protectively on her stomach, close to her unborn child.

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I **hope you enjoyed that, please do let me know what you think as I'd love to hear! I have the second chapter very almost done so I hope there won't be too long of a wait for the next chapter (I'm thinking of trying to get into the same regime I did with Tempted, one chapter a week, minimum).**

 **The Purple Black**


	2. Rodolphus

**Thank you so much for the favourites, follows and reviews so far! I love them all immensely. Make sure to go follow me on Tumblr (same username as here) for updates, previews or to ask me anything in regards to this fic!**

 **As always please read, enjoy and please do leave a review as I love love love to hear your thoughts.**

 **The purple Black**

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Bellatrix paced the room. She had come to the drawing room in order to get away from her husband, she needed to think. It had been three days since she had realised that she was with child and she still did not know what she was going to do, let alone how she was going to tell Rodolphus. She had considered not telling him, considered dealing with the issue herself in one way or another without his knowledge. But he knew something was wrong. He had been harassing her to try and find out what was going on before she had even realised she was pregnant herself, it was part of the reason why she had even come to consider that she may be pregnant. She knew she had been more emotional of late, switching from being perfectly fine one moment to wanting to snap her husband's neck the next, it wasn't unusual for her to be easily angered, though the frequency of it had become alarming. When her husband pointed out to her that it wasn't her "time of the month" for some weeks she had to stop herself from using an unforgivable on the man. That was when she realised she was late.

The handle to the room turned slowly, almost inaudibly, but still Bellatrix ceased her pacing. She listened to the door slowly opening, the few footsteps against the hardwood floor and then the small click of the door closing in place behind the newcomer. Bellatrix took a deep breath before she spoke.

"Really Rodolphus, stop following me around like some lost little puppy dog," Bellatrix hissed, rolling her eyes before she turned to the man.

"Stop running away from me like a scared little child then," Rodolphus rolled his eyes, slowly walking over to his wife, unphased as she walked away from him towards to the fireplace, "going somewhere?"

"No," Bellatrix snapped, though she couldn't help it as her gaze drifted towards the small pot of floo powder glistening on the mantle.

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong?" he asked.

"No," Bellatrix said, turning to face the man with an emotionless stare.

"But there _is_ something wrong?" Rodolphus raised an eyebrow.

"No."

Rodolphus couldn't help but let out a small huff of laughter, "Honestly, Bella—"

"I'm fine," Bellatrix narrowed her eyes, "I want to be left alone."

"Something is bothering you," Rodolphus stated, "you've been avoiding me for weeks now."

"Perhaps I've grown tired of your pitiful face following me around?"

"You always become so bitchy and cruel when you're on the defensive," Rodolphus mused.

"Well, darling, you clearly bring out the side that makes me want to be a cruel bitch," Bellatrix shrugged.

"What's wrong?" Rodolphus asked.

"Nothing is wrong," Bellatrix snapped, "now if you don't mind I'm going to—Get off of me!"

Rodolphus had quickly closed the distance between them as Bellatrix tried to leave the room, grabbing her arm in a vice-like grip. She reached for her wand, though her husband clearly knew her too well as in one swift movement he had pulled her closer, reaching around her with his spare hand so that he could easily pull the thin wood from her pocket. Bellatrix glared at him, furious as she pulled at her arm feebly in his unrelenting grip.

"You are always so beautiful when you're angry," Rodolphus mused, "though your attitude recently is starting to bore me."

"Well, you bore me enough as it is so I guess we're even," Bellatrix spat.

"Bella . . ." Rodolphus sighed, lessening his grip on the woman ever so slightly, "you've been acting out of sorts recently . . . I'm allowed to be worried about my wife."

Bellatrix considered the man for a moment, staring into his dark eyes she considered her options. Her gaze must have softened unwillingly because soon her husband had released her from his grasp.

"Tell me what's wrong . . . please?" Rodolphus asked.

"I—" Bellatrix stopped herself, closing her eyes for a moment as she shook her head, "I'm fine—I'll be fine."

"What does that mean?" he asked.

". . . I'm pregnant, Rodolphus," Bellatrix practically whispered, the mere sound of her words making her stomach churn.

"Pregnant?" Rodolphus repeated, his eyes widening slightly, "With my child?"

"Of course it's _your_ child!" Bellatrix snapped, taking a step back from her husband as she placed one hand subconsciously on her stomach.

"Bella . . ." a slow grin appeared on the man's face, "Oh Bella that's wonderful."

"It is _not_!" Bellatrix cried, wincing as the man gave the look of someone who had been slapped in the face.

"It _is_ ," Rodolphus said, "why on earth wouldn't it be?"

"Because . . . I don't want it," Bellatrix breathed.

"You . . ." Rodolphus frowned, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "you don't want it?"

"No," Bellatrix said simply, straightening herself up to stand tall.

"How can you not want it?" Rodolphus asked.

"I just don't."

"But Bellatrix," Rodolphus shook his head, "you do want children. I know you do. We spoke of it before we married, we agreed."

"We were children," Bellatrix shrugged, "I changed my mind."

"It is your duty!" Rodolphus shouted, uncaring as his wife could not help but flinch at his sudden rage, "You are my wife!"

"I have a higher duty!" Bellatrix screeched, "I have more important things to do—far more important than ensuring your line carries on!"

The sound of the man's hand colliding with his wife's cheek rung hard and fast throughout the room, the witch staggering back slightly as she hit the wall, barely making a sound until her husband grabbed her by her wrists and pinned her in place.

"Get off of me!" Bellatrix growled, turning her head away from the man now so close to her own face.

"Bellatrix, you cannot be rid of this child," Rodolphus tried to control his temper, though as his face was mere inches from his wife's own, he was clearly finding this to be a difficult feat.

"I can't have it . . ." Bellatrix spoke quietly, still not turning to look at him.

"Bellatrix, this is not about what _you_ _want_ , it—"

"I know that!" Bellatrix snapped, turning her face to glare at her husband, the man frowning taken slightly aback to see the faintest hint of tears within the woman's eyes, "This isn't about what _I_ want! Or what _you_ want!"

"It has everything to do with—"

"It doesn't!" Bellatrix said, "It has nothing to do with us! . . . It—It's him . . ."

"Who?" Rodolphus frowned, loosening his hold on the woman slightly though he did not let her go, "The child? It's a boy?"

"No, you idiot," Bellatrix hissed, taking advantage of the man's loosened grip as she quickly pulled herself out from under him. Rodolphus looked to her, she knew if he had wanted he could have stopped her from pulling away, perhaps he was worried about their child, perhaps he'd gone soft, she neither knew nor cared, "it's _him_."

"I—" realisation suddenly flooded the man's features, almost fearful in his gaze as he took a step towards his wife (though the woman quickly stepped back away from him), "What did you do Bellatrix?" she bowed her head slightly, looking to the hand she had now subconsciously returned to be placed upon her stomach, " _What did you do!?_ " Rodolphus bellowed, uncaring as Bellatrix flinched at his words.

"I didn't think," she shook her head, "I didn't think it would happen. I—I thought it was avoidable. I didn't think you would find out."

"I am your husband!" Rodolphus snapped, "Tell me _now_ , Bellatrix!"

"It was years ago . . ." Bellatrix murmured, "before we were married—just before. H-He said I would become distracted, th-that I would waiver in my duty to him . . ."

"What did you do?" Rodolphus asked, calmer in his tone now.

"H—He made me swear I wouldn't give you children," Bellatrix winced.

". . . An unbreakable vow?" Rodolphus asked, then shook his head, "No . . . You would have rid yourself of it by now if you had . . . Why?"

"I told you," Bellatrix said, raising her head higher as she tried to regain some sort of control of the situation.

"No," Rodolphus said, clenching his fists, "why would you agree to such a thing? Why would you not tell me?"

"He's our _master_ ," Bellatrix said, as if it were the simplest thing in the world, "and why would I tell you?"

"Because this affects both of us!" Rodolphus snapped, "You only think of yourself! This is the one thing I ever asked of you, the thing we discussed before we were married. Are you looking to end the name of Lestrange?"

"You have a brother."

"That is not the point!" Rodolphus yelled.

Bellatrix considered the man for a moment, watching his inner battle of emotions raging through him. She moved towards one of the small armchairs in the room, slowly sitting back down as she placed an arm on the armrest, staring blankly into the fire of the room.

"Help me . . ." Bellatrix breathed, a barely audible sound.

Rodolphus looked to the woman, curling his lip, "Help you kill our child? No."

Bellatrix shook her head slowly, her thumb tracing small circles on her stomach as she lost the battle to fight back a single tear, "Help me . . ." she repeated.

Her husband could not help the small tug of hurt from watching the woman he loved, usually so strong and defiant, looking so vulnerable. It was usually a rare sight, though clearly the hormones of pregnancy had been taking their toll upon her as he thought back on the last few weeks in realisation. He walked towards her slowly, as if approaching a frightened animal he was scared would run away at the slightest of movements. She didn't move as he reached her, barely reacting as he slowly put his hand on her arm.

"How?" Rodolphus spoke quietly, watching the woman carefully, she merely shook her head. With a small sigh, he walked around her until he was stood in front of her, kneeling down to break her gaze from the fire and meet her with his own gaze.

"I have to . . ." Bellatrix murmured "There's no choice . . ."

" . . . How far along are you?" Rodolphus asked gently.

Bellatrix shook her head as if to snap herself back to reality, looking down at her lap, "Only a short while . . . a few weeks . . . perhaps more . . ."

Rodolphus sighed, "Bella . . . Why have you not dealt with this already?"

"Do you want me to?" Bellatrix asked almost hopefully, though there was undoubtedly something like fear underneath her tone, "Is that what you want?"

"No," Rodolphus said quickly as he shook his head, "but . . . I've known you for so long, though I doubt you would care to admit it, I am probably the person that understands you the most in this world . . . If you wanted to get rid of it, if that was your immediate thought from the moment you found out . . . you would have done it by now."

"I have no choice," Bellatrix said, taking the hand that was on her arm into her own, "you have to understand that."

"So you only hesitated because of me?" Rodolphus raised an eyebrow, "That is the only reason you still carry our child?"

"Yes." The lie was instant, Rodolphus could not help the flicker of a smirk that fell on his features in his slight amusement of it.

"You don't want to be rid of this child," Rodolphus said, squeezing the woman's hand, "if it were just for me it would be gone by now . . . Have you told The Dark Lord?"

Bellatrix shook her head, "I can't. It's enough that I allowed this to happen in the first place, he can't find out."

"I'll talk to him," Rodolphus said, going to stand though he was quickly pulled back by his wife.

"No!" She hissed, "he can't know! I can't have him find out! I—I—I can't get rid of my own child. Don't make me be the one to do it."

Tears began to fall more freely down her cheeks now, the woman clearly having lost all care as she looked pleadingly into her husband's eyes. He rose to his feet only to take the woman into his arms, shifting her in her position so that he could sit with her cradled on his lap. He stroked her hair, pressing her head into his shoulder as he could feel her still trying to hold back her emotions.

He pressed his lips to her hair, kissing her gently, "Of course you can't . . . You could never kill your own child. You are too good for that, you would never harm your own children . . ." he stroked the woman's back, feeling her move her head to look up to him slightly, though he did not look at her, "But The Dark Lord . . . you cannot go against his word . . ."

"No . . ." Bellatrix agreed, gripping onto her husband's shirt with the hand that was not clasped onto the front of her own robes, "I can't . . ."

"He didn't want you distracted . . . Children can be ever so distracting, if you _let_ them be . . ." Rodolphus murmured, "You are easily distracted."

"I am not!" Bellatrix hissed, sitting up slightly as she glared at the man, "I would never be distracted from The Dark Lord's cause, not from my duty to him."

"You're right," Rodolphus sighed, "though perhaps he doesn't think so, to make you make such a promise."

"I—" Bellatrix paused, there was no way that her Lord did not trust her, surely she had proven herself to him enough over the years. She shook her head, "It was years ago . . . I have proven myself since then . . ."

"So tell him that," Rodolphus near enough whispered, "ask him for this. You have proven your loyalty, surely he would grant this to you now? Surely he would not ask you to kill your own child before it knew life?"

Bellatrix looked down at her stomach, toying with the fabric of her dress as she thought in silence for a moment.

"You can only ask, Bella . . ."

"He won't be pleased," Bellatrix shook his head, "I've defied him by letting it get this far."

"It was an accident on your part . . ." Rodolphus brought his hand to place it on top of the woman's own, "you can only ask . . ."

"He'll punish me . . ."

"He rarely punishes _you_ ," Rodolphus scoffed, "besides, is it not torture enough to get rid of it? Is it not worth the risk?"

Bellatrix looked into her husband's eyes, he kept his expression neutral enough but she knew how much he wanted this child. She was sure if she denied his request and did not go to The Dark Lord to at least attempt to keep this child he would make her suffer regardless. She did not fear her husband, they had fought enough over the years for her to know she could put up with anything he threw her way. But besides the wants of her husband, was it worth the risk to have the child she had begun to realise she now also wanted? She rested her head on his shoulder, the man allowing her to sit in silence there on his lap as she mulled over her the decision she knew she would ultimately have to make.

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 **Thank you for reading! Please do leave a review and let me know what you think.**

 **The Purple Black**


	3. My Lord

**Thank you so much for all of your reviews, follows and favourites so far, especially the reviews as I love reading your thoughts!**

 **As always, please read, enjoy and please do leave a review if you have a moment!**

 **The Purple Black**

* * *

She could feel her heart pounding in her chest above the click of her heels on the way down the corridor. Bellatrix could not remember the last time she had been so nervous to see her master, she had never failed him before. Though she took steady breaths despite her emotions, determined to at least attempt to seem strong and calm even if she felt nothing of the sort. It was no longer unusual for The Dark Lord to summon her alone to his private dwellings, and though she knew she could go to him or summon him should she need to discuss urgent matters with the man she felt compelled to wait for her next summons. She couldn't admit why this was the case, though deep down she knew it was due to fear. She wrinkled her nose at the thought of it. Bellatrix Lestrange was anything but fearful, only ever strong and fearless like the warrior he had help her become, but the sensation similar to rocks in the pit of her stomach as it felt like every hair on her body stood on edge betrayed her. She blamed the hormones.

She paused at the door she knew her Lord to be dwelling behind, knowing that he would already be aware of her presence but unable to bring herself to knock on the door. Her hand suddenly felt like lead as it refused to lift high enough to make a sound on the solid wood. She closed her eyes for a moment to gather her emotions.

"Come in . . ." the cold voice rung out from behind the door, causing the witch to snap open her eyes in response, nodding dumbly as if the man could see her.

She took a deep breath before she entered the room, quickly turning to close the door behind her before after a final attempt to keep her face clear of emotions she turned to her master. She was in his private room, a room that to her knowledge no other Death Eater had stepped foot in. The room was rather sparse for what you would imagine a man such as The Dark Lord to have, with merely a four poster bed, a modest wardrobe in one corner and a wooden desk and chair in the other.

She forced herself to look to the man, bowing her head slightly as she greeted him with a soft "My Lord,"

"Bella . . ." Voldemort cocked his head to the side for a moment as he inspected the woman's appearance, the silence seemingly lasting forever but was in truth only a few seconds long before he spoke again, "do you have any news?"

"N-News, My Lord?" Bellatrix asked, cursing herself silently for the slight stutter in her words.

"News, Bella . . ." Lord Voldemort spoke softly, taking a few steps towards the woman before he stopped a few feet away from her, "of your missions?" he raised an eyebrow.

"They're fine, My Lord," Bellatrix said, nodding slightly, "Rodolphus and I went to a Muggle village last week, there were casualties," she could not help the smirk that appeared on her features despite her nerves, "through my own investigations I also believe we may be closer to identifying some members of The Order, My Lord."

"It is going well then?" Lord Voldemort questioned, slowly stepping forward to the woman again.

"Yes, My Lord," Bellatrix nodded, "Very well."

"So tell me Bella . . ." he murmured, stepping close enough to reach up to the woman, gently putting his hand on her cheek as her gaze flickered away from him and bringing her face up towards his own. He looked deeply into her dark eyes, unsurprised to find her mind guarded from intrusion in just the way he had taught her himself, "if everything is going so well . . . why are you so full of fear tonight? Have I come to scare you, just as I do so many others? I thought you better than that, Bellatrix . . ."

Bellatrix shook her head desperately as he removed his hand from her cheek, "No, My Lord."

"Then perhaps you are scared of something I may say or do?" Lord Voldemort raised an eyebrow, slowly walking towards his bed.

"No, My Lord," Bellatrix repeated, though as the man turned to look at her again she knew her fears were etched clearly on her pale features.

"No?" the woman shook her head again, "Then perhaps there is something you need to tell me? Are your missions not going as well as you have led me to believe?"

"Of course not, My Lord! I mean," Bellatrix shook her head, the feeling of rocks in her stomach twisted as if her stomach was now doing summersaults. She cursed silently, internally begging herself to calm her emotions, to not let her body betray her, "m-my missions are fine, My Lord. I would not lie to you."

"You are hiding something from me, Bellatrix," he hissed, his eyes narrowing at the woman, "Tell me what it is."

"I—I—" Bellatrix couldn't take it anymore, she had already decided this was a stupid idea, she was sure to curse her husband for it later should she ever make it out of here alive. She let out a dry sob despite herself, "I-I have failed you, My Lord."

"Failed me how?" Lord Voldemort demanded.

"I swore, I—I swore to you," she dropped to the floor, bowing her head as she grovelled, "forgive me, My Lord. Please, forgive me."

Lord Voldemort took one look at the woman, he knew Bellatrix had her tendencies to overreact, to beg for forgiveness and berate herself even if she thought the slightest of matters had gone wrong in her service to him. He knew there was only one way to make the woman see straight enough to tell him. He near enough stormed over to her, grabbing her wrist and pulling her to her feet despite her cry of panic. He drew his wand with his spare hand, jabbing the tip firmly beneath her chin to force her head high enough to meet his own cold eyes.

"Tell me what you have done, Bellatrix," he spoke firmly, his anger at her stupidity creeping into his tone, "You will tell me or I will make you show me, you decide."

Bellatrix steadied her breathing, forcing herself to stop her foolish sobbing before she shook her head. She reached out a hand and rested it on his shoulder, she could not speak it, she could not say what she had to. Her eyes flickered for a moment before she let him into her mind willingly. She thought back to her suspicions, a glimpse of her snapping at Rodolphus what now felt like so long ago, laying in bed at night staring aimlessly into the ceiling of her room, pulling herself out of her thoughts that night as realisation set in, slipping off to a secluded area of the manor whilst Rodolphus slept and doing the test spell that confirmed her to be a failure to her master in her own eyes . . . The pull of her master's presence leaving her mind was instant and almost violent in its swiftness, she barely caught a glimpse of his red eyes staring down at her before without warning she was thrown to the floor. She barely dared to look up at him, though as she heard him walking away from her she could not help but risk a glimpse up at the man. His back was turned to her, standing at the edge of the bed as he seemingly gathered his thoughts. She waited for at least a minute before she could stand the silence no longer.

"My Lord . . .?" Her voice was quiet, as if she was almost hoping the man would not hear her.

". . . You are pregnant?" Lord Voldemort eventually asked, still with his back turned to her.

She winced at his tone, "Y-Yes, My Lord,"

"With your husband's child?" he asked, still unmoving.

"I-It's his, My Lord," Bellatrix confirmed.

The man slowly turned back to face her, the woman on the floor forcing herself not to cringe at the emotionless mask he wore. She would rather he show anger, show disappointment, show anything rather than nothing at all.

"You swore to me, Bellatrix," Lord Voldemort said, "you swore you would not have his children."

"I didn't mean to, My Lord," Bellatrix shook her head, begging her master, "I swear it, it was a mistake."

"Why are you telling me this, Bellatrix?" the man asked.

"Y-You are my master, My Lord, I tell you everything," she spoke as if the answer were obvious.

"Yes . . . I always thought you such a good woman for that . . ." Lord Voldemort mused, "though, considering what you have sworn to me, why are you telling me? Why have you not simply rid yourself of the distraction?"

"I—" Bellatrix swallowed hard, forcing herself to sit up on the floor though not daring to get to her feet just yet, "I am loyal, My Lord."

"I wouldn't doubt that . . . usually."

Bellatrix winced, shaking her head, "I am nothing but loyal, I have served you for years and I will continue to serve you unwavering in my service for the rest of my years. I swear it, My Lord."

" . . . You wish to keep the child?" The Dark Lord wrinkled his nose in distaste of the idea.

"My Lord," Bellatrix shook her head, "I swear it, I will not be distracted, I am loyal only to you, My Lord!"

"Though you will, Bellatrix," Lord Voldemort shook his head, "it is inevitable. You won't be able to go out on your missions soon, you will become distracted when you have a young child to care for,"

"I will work for you until I cannot physically do so—or until you tell me to stop, My Lord!" Bellatrix begged, "I will not become distracted, I swear it, let me prove myself, My Lord. I swear I can do it, I will prove that this child will not distract me. It will be an asset to you, My Lord. It will further the Pureblood line, Rodolphus and I are both loyal servants to you, this child will grow to be the same, it will be raised on your views, My Lord. I will not let anything stop me in my service to you, I swear it, My Lord."

"Though you've sworn things to me in the past, Bellatrix . . ." The Dark Lord sighed, "Yet you have broken your promise to me . . ."

"It was a mistake, My Lord," Bellatrix looked up at her master beggingly, suddenly all too aware of his drawn wand at his side as he slowly walked closer towards her again, "Please, My Lord. I will make this work, I swear—It will only be an asset to your cause, should I prove you wrong—should I prove you wrong do as you wish, punish me, torture me, kill me . . ."

Lord Voldemort stopped on his approach, raising an eyebrow as he surveyed the woman for a moment. The usually so powerful, feared and strong-willed witch reduced to a grovelling mess on the floor before him. It was pitiful.

"You have been loyal in your service to me, I cannot deny that . . ." he spoke softly, pausing for a few moments though the witch did not dare to break the silence this time, "Prove yourself further, Bellatrix, prove this will not become a distraction."

"Yes, My Lord," Bellatrix gasped, "Th-Thank you, My Lord."

"I make no promises, Bellatrix," The Dark Lord spoke more firmly this time, "I am yet to make my decision on what to do in this matter . . . though your child is safe for now. The Dark Lord is merciful, for now. I suggest you do not make a habit of breaking your commitments to myself, or you will find me to be _far_ from merciful."

"O-Of course, My Lord," Bellatrix nodded.

"Go," Voldemort said, gesturing to the door behind her as the doors opened at the flick of his wrist, "go back to your husband."

"Yes, My Lord," Bellatrix nodded, scrambling to her feet, "Th-Thank you, My Lord."

He gave a slight nod, watching as the woman gave him one last glance before she walked quickly from the room bowing to him as she left.

* * *

"Well?" Rodolphus said, unable to keep the trepidation from his voice as his wife walked through the main doors of the manor. "What happened?"

Bellatrix lowered the hood of her cloak, not looking at her husband as she clicked her fingers and the elf came to immediately take her cloak from her. She heard his voice as if it were distant, though she knew it was not the case when mere seconds later she felt his hands on her arms as he turned her towards him.

"You've been crying . . ." Rodolphus murmured.

"No," Bellatrix lied, swatting at her eyes to brush away the remnants of the tears that had escaped her.

"What happened, Bella?" Rodolphus asked, "What did he say?"

"I failed him . . ." Bellatrix shook her head, her voice distant. "I failed him . . . I swore to him . . . I should not have gone to him . . ."

"Bellatrix," Rodolphus shook her slightly, forcing the woman to look up at him, "What did he say? . . . What did he _do_?"

"Nothing . . ." Bellatrix breathed, "he didn't do anything . . ."

"You mean . . ." Rod's eyes flickered from the woman's gaze down towards her stomach and back again.

"I'm still pregnant," she shook her head, speaking almost dismissively of his queries.

"You can keep it?" Rodolphus couldn't help but let himself grin slightly.

"Yes . . ." She nodded.

"Oh, Bella," Rodolphus breathed a sigh of release, taking the woman in his arms as he kissed her wild curls.

"For now . . ." Bellatrix murmured, feeling her husband tense.

"What do you mean?" Rodolphus asked, not moving an inch.

"I failed him . . ." Bellatrix shook her head, "I failed him . . ."

"Bellatrix!" Rodolphus snapped, pulling away from the woman slightly though he gripped onto her arms again, his gaze stern, "stop speaking nonsense and tell me what he said!"

Bellatrix winced, shaking her head as if to clear it this time before she looked down, unable to look her husband in the eyes, "He doesn't make promises . . . I can keep it for now . . ."

"For now?" Rodolphus furrowed his brows in appalled confusion, "He means to kill the child later?"

"No!" Bellatrix snapped, taking advantage of the man's confusion to pull away from his grip, "I mean . . . I don't think so."

"Bellatrix—"

"He said I had been loyal," Bellatrix spoke quickly, "that I had to prove myself further, prove that it wouldn't become a distraction. He said that he makes no promises, but he is yet to make his decision on what to do in this matter. Th-the child is safe," Bellatrix cringed, a hand falling to her stomach almost protectively, "for now. H-He suggested I don't make a habit of breaking my commitments to him o-or I will find him to be far from merciful."

"Bella," Rodolphus breathed, going to take the woman in his arms again though she flinched and stepped away, "Bella I swear, we will be fine. You won't waiver in your loyalties or your duties—and neither shall I."

Bellatrix could not help but let out a huff of laughter despite herself, Rodolphus gave her a look though she merely shook her head.

"I need to be alone," Bellatrix murmured.

"Bel—"

" _I said,_ " Bellatrix growled, "I need to be alone."

The man did not speak again, though he stepped aside as she walked past. She could not help but blame him. She was sure she had been careful to keep her promise to her Lord, taken every precaution. Though she could only think of her husband's incessant desire to have a child, how he had tried in so many ways to make it happen whether she had wanted it or not. She could not help but think of her potions, she had never missed one. How had this happened? It was Rodolphus Lestrange's fault and she knew it, though she could not help but admit as she subconsciously rubbed her stomach that she now had the desire to keep the child and become the mother she had once sworn she would never be.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed, please do leave a review or head on over to my Tumblr (same user as here) and ask me anything, will likely post previews etc there in the future too.**

 **The Purple Black**


	4. Not Okay

**So sorry for the delay in updating. Christmas and all that was hectic and then I left for America for a while on the 2nd. I'm currently sat in a Motel room in LA as I've finished writing this chapter (going to Universal tomorrow!). Anywho . . .**

 **Please read, enjoy and please please please do review if you have a moment.**

 **The Purple Black**

* * *

"Oh Bella," Narcissa grinned, reaching out and hugging her sister, "that's amazing news."

Bellatrix allowed her sister to hug her for a moment, wrapping one arm around her as she stared out into the grounds of her childhood home from the old marble bench they sat perched upon. She sighed and eventually pulled away from her grasp, pulling her cloak closer towards her against the slight chill of the September afternoon.

"How far along are you?" Narcissa asked, taking her sister's hand as she placed it on her knee.

"A couple of months I suppose?" Bellatrix said, shrugging slightly.

"You don't seem too happy about it . . ." Narcissa frowned.

"I am," Bellatrix forced a slight smile, knowing from the look her sister returned that she was not fooling her. She rolled her eyes, "it's unexpected."

"Well, you must have been trying?" Narcissa rolled her eyes, "You've been married for how long now? Six years?"

"Just about," Bellatrix murmured, "I suppose I didn't think it could happen . . . it's just . . . a shock."

"Well, I can imagine," Narcissa laughed slightly, "I personally would love a child, just one, that's more than enough. So long as it's a boy, obviously."

"Obviously," Bellatrix echoed.

"But we're in no rush," Narcissa sighed.

"Oh please, you've been married mere months," Bellatrix scoffed, "I have no doubt you'll have your perfect little boy soon. Then Mother will be fawning over you and how perfect you are yet again, none of the harassment and snide remarks I've had over children since I left the home. Merlin, you could probably go years without children and they wouldn't bat an eyelid."

"That's not true," Narcissa shook her head before she smiled slightly, squeezing her sister's hand in excitement as she stood to her feet, "but now you can go rub it in their faces! Tell everyone you're having a child—"

"No!" Bellatrix hissed, pulling her sister back down to sit beside her, "I'm not telling anyone— _especially_ not them, heaven forbid they think I've done something right for once." Bellatrix couldn't help but smirk slightly in her own amusement.

"Well, I suppose," Narcissa huffed, "you'll want to wait until you're in your second trimester I suppose—"

"No," Bellatrix said firmly, looking into her sister's eyes as she put her right hand over her sister's, still tight in her grip upon her, " _no-one_ can know."

"But, why?" Narcissa asked confusion etched on her features as she furrowed her brows, "Bella this is good news, you have to—"

"I don't and I won't," Bellatrix wrinkled her nose, "I don't even want to think of having that conversation with them."

"Why?" Narcissa asked, "They—"

"I said _no_ ," Bellatrix snapped, "I'm only telling you because you're my sister and Merlin knows I would never hear the end of it if I didn't. No-one else can know."

"But you'll show . . ."

"I'll hide it."

"You'll become as big as a house, Bella!" Narcissa whispered, "You can't hide something that big, it—"

"Disillusionment Charms work, I've researched it," Bellatrix interrupted, "I'll do that."

Narcissa looked to her sister, trying to read her, trying to find some sense in what her sister was saying she would do or find some reason as to why she would do it. She went slightly paler as a slight realisation hit her, "This is because of _him_ , isn't it?"

Bellatrix considered the woman for a moment, chewing over her thoughts as she tried to decide what to say before she simply turned her head and looked back out to the grounds of the manor, "It's just the way it is, Narcissa. Don't question it."

The blonde witch went to speak again, though as she saw her sister's empty gaze she knew it was useless to question her further. She turned to face the grounds, leaning back on the bench as she silently rested her head on her sister's shoulder. She felt the older woman's arm shift, moving to wrap around her back as she absentmindedly stroked small circles on her shoulder.

"We used to sit like this all the time . . ." Narcissa breathed minutes later as if scared if she spoke too loudly she would make her eldest sister realise she was showing some form of affection, the sort she had not experienced in years, "we used to talk all the time . . . Sit in the grounds and just be in each other's company . . . What changed?"

Bellatrix stopped tracing circles on her sister's shoulder, she could feel the woman freeze up slightly beside her before she muttered her response in a dead tone, "You know, Cissa."

"Andr—"

" _Don't_ ," Bellatrix hissed, "don't speak that bitch's name to me."

"I . . ." Narcissa bit her lip, hesitating for a moment before she carried on, "I'm still here . . . I'm not leaving . . . But we've still drifted . . ."

Bellatrix stared numbly ahead of her. She dared not to speak of her thoughts but she could not help it as they rushed through her mind. Of course their relationship had changed. Andromeda had always been the peacekeeper, the sister to bring them together, the one to stop Bellatrix from hiding away from the world in her darkest moments, the one that encouraged her to carry on, to not let her difficult childhood break her, the one who kept her sane, the one that made sure Narcissa was still involved even if Bella could barely face being around one other person let alone two. She had always been closer to Andromeda, Narcissa was their third. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment as she gathered her thoughts.

"I'm sorry . . ." Bellatrix murmured, a sound so quiet that it was barely audible, "We won't drift . . . We'll stay together. It will be okay."

"Promise me?" Narcissa asked, just as quiet as her sister.

Bellatrix smiled slightly, squeezing her sister close to her briefly "Well, you're the only person that I've told about this baby, what does that say to you? I hardly want you to disappear on your niece or nephew, I fully expect you to be an overprotective Aunt who spoils this child rotten."

"Of course," Narcissa laughed.

"Now," Bellatrix took a deep breath as she stood, turning to look towards the manor she quickly looked down to her sister with a forced smile as she caught a glimpse of their father looking down at them from the windows of the sunroom, "I believe if we do not return to our husband's soon our parents may drive them insane."

Narcissa rolled her eyes with a smirk, though she gave a small nod and stood to her feet, walking back up to the Manor arm in arm with her sister.

* * *

"Bella?" Rodolphus knocked gently on the bathroom door, he had been stood there for at least five minutes alternating between quietly listening to see if his wife was okay and calling her name to try and get some sort of response from the woman. He sighed as she did not answer his call and knocked yet again, "Bella? _Bellatrix_ —"

"Go away, Rodolphus!" Bellatrix cried out angrily from the other side of the door.

"Bella you've been in there for a long time, I—" Rodolphus stood back as the door swung open.

Bellatrix Lestrange glared furiously at the man as she wiped her mouth, her other hand gripped onto the door ready to slam it in his face again, " _What_ part of _go away_ do you not understand?"

"Are you okay?" Rodolphus asked, ignoring his wife's comment, he rolled his eyes and put his foot out as she went to slam the door in his face again.

"Rodolphus," Bellatrix hissed, "what on earth do you think a woman that is nearing three months pregnant is doing locked away in a bathroom for so long? Entertaining a group of young men? Throwing a party? Downing a bottle of fire whiskey and not inviting you in on the fun?"

The man hesitated for a moment, refraining himself from sighing at her for her comments. He was used to Bellatrix's sarcasm and snappy comments, however their unborn child seemed to be bringing out this side of her more and more often as of late. "I'm allowed to worry about you, Bellatrix," Rodolphus said simply, "you are carrying my child."

" _Our_ child," Bellatrix hissed, abandoning her plight to lock herself back in the bathroom and barging past the man to walk towards their bedroom, "stop it."

She paused, she did not need to turn nor hear the man's footsteps to know that he had followed her. She waited for his response for a few moments, then with a groan of annoyance turned to look to him, raising an eyebrow she sighed "Do I need to curse you? Is that it? Because don't think I won't."

"Oh I know you would," Rodolphus couldn't help but laugh slightly before he shook his head, "but no. You're forgetting something."

Bellatrix frowned, "Forgetting something other than how much of an infuriating idiot my husband is?" she mocked concentration before she shook her head, "No, I believe that's all."

Rodolphus stepped forward as the witch tried to walk away, he took a risk as he grabbed her arm, luckily he knew her well enough to grab her wand arm a split second later as she reached for her wand, "Bella, we have places to be."

"I am not—!" Bella's face of frustrated anger soon turned into one of shocked realisation, her eyes wide as she swore under her breath. Her mind had been a mess of late, forgetting simple things and confusing matters that had once been so simple. Bellatrix had never thought she would forget a meeting though, not anything to do with her beloved master.

"We need to leave," Rodolphus said, " _now_."

Bellatrix swore again, going to apparate before she came to the realisation that she was stood in her nightgown and slippers. She ran to her room, Rodolphus quickly behind her.

"Why did you let me forget!?" Bellatrix hissed, wrenching off her nightgown and quickly summoning her dress.

"I didn't think you did forget," Rodolphus sighed, meeting his wife's furious glare as he handed her shoes to her, "you never forget."

"It's this damn child!" Bellatrix shook her head, quickly stepping into her shoes, "My mind is clouded, it's as if this thing is trying to imperius me from within, I—"

"Don't," Rodolphus said, his face suddenly serious as he grabbed his wife's hand, "you cannot use this child as an excuse for our lateness. He cannot think this child is making you stray from your duties to him."

Bellatrix opened her mouth, ready berate the man for his assumptions that she was straying from her duties, that she was anything but loyal. But she knew this was not the time, she simply nodded, gripping onto his hand more tightly she closed her eyes and let the feeling of side along apparation overtake her. The nausea was instant, making the woman sway on the spot for a moment though she did not stand still for long, quickly pulled by the tug of her husband's hand she forced her eyes open and strode beside him to where her master waited for them with the rest of the inner circle.

"Ah," the cold, high voice filled the room, sending a chill down the witches spine as she quickly let go of her husband's hand and bowed her head, "The Lestranges, how nice of you to finally join us."

The two chorused their greetings of 'My Lord', waiting for the man to gesture for them to move before they went to their seats, Bellatrix noting that her usual seat beside her Lord was occupied.

"My Lord, I—"

"I do not want to hear your excuses, Rodolphus," Voldemort rolled his eyes, "we have business to attend to, you have caused disruption enough for one day."

Bellatrix did not look at the man, her stomach was squirming with both the horror of disappointing her lord along with what was becoming the familiar pull of morning sickness. She ignored the smug smirk on Lucius' face as she tried to give Lord Voldemort her full attention.

"Rookwood," Lord Voldemort's voice carried across the room as he looked to his servant, "how fairs the department of mysteries?"

"No change, My Lord," Rookwood droned, "all is going to plan."

Lord Voldemort nodded, he carried on in his questioning, though Bellatrix had phased out. She became aware of the smallest of things, she could hear her heart beating in her chest, smell the obnoxious aftershave Lucius wore sat across from her, feel the subtle brushing of Rodolphus' hand against her leg. She closed her eyes, feeling the sweat bead on her forehead as her stomach continued to twist and turn.

"Bellatrix?" Voldemort hissed.

"My Lord?" Bellatrix breathed, forcing herself to look up to her master with as much concentration as she could gather at that moment, suddenly aware that it was not the first time he had called her name.

"Are we keeping you from something, _Lestrange_?" Lord Voldemort raised an eyebrow, his hand caressing his wand as it lay on the table before him.

Bellatrix quickly shook her head, ignoring the sniggers of her comrades. She was sure they were enjoying every moment of her suffering, every moment that showed her to not be the faithful, ruthless, perfect servant she had always been for The Dark Lord. She didn't care. She only cared that she did not appear to fail her beloved master in his eyes.

"N-No, My Lord," Bellatrix swallowed hard, clenching her fists in her lap as she tried with all of her might to fight down the bile rising in her throat.

"No?" Lord Voldemort repeated, tilting his head slightly as she shook her head vigorously, "How about yourself and Rodolphus, hmm? How goes your search for Dumbledore's band of fools? If I remember correctly you were closing in on more than one of them not long ago."

Rodolphus leant forward, gripping onto Bellatrix's hand underneath the table, "My Lord—"

"I believe I asked Bellatrix the question, Rodolphus," Lord Voldemort mused, "Has your wife lost her ability to speak?"

"N-No, My Lord," Bellatrix shook her head, "I—"

It was too late. There was no way in Bella's mind that she could allow her fellow Death Eater's, let alone her beloved master, see her in such a state. She knew what would happen next and there was only one logical answer in her mind as to what she would have to do. She threw her chair backwards as she rose to her feet, wrenching her hand from her husband she ran towards the door. She barely felt the invisible bonds that held her in place appear, standing awkwardly in place between her seat and the door, though the pressure on her waist did nothing to help what came next. The groans and swears of the men around her echoed across the room as she expelled the contents of her stomach onto the previously pristine hardwood flooring in front of her. She dared not open her eyes as she bent forward, falling to her knees the moment she felt the restraint release from her. She screwed her eyes shut again for a few moments, taking in large gulps of air every few moments until she was finally done. She forced the tears to stay within her dark eyes, though her face flushed in both her shame and anger at herself. The room was silent.

"M-My Lor—"

"Go home, Bellatrix," Lord Voldemort spoke with no emotion, a tone reflected in his features as Bellatrix looked towards him.

"I'm s—"

"Go home, Bellatrix," he repeated, this time it was clear the matter was not up for discussion.

Bellatrix slowly rose to her feet, drawing her wand as she vanished the mess before her. She could not bear to look up to her Lord again, bowing her head and muttering "My Lord," before walking from the room.

She disapparated to the outer grounds of Lestrange manor, letting the cold night air caress her heated skin as tears began to quietly escape down her pale cheeks. She was numb, unable to think of the events of the night nor the shame it had caused her. It was hours later when Rodolphus arrived back home, finding his wife curled on their bed staring blankly out of the window. She lifted her head slightly as he walked into their room. His face was clear of emotion and as Bellatrix went to open her mouth to try and ask the man what had happened after she had left he merely shook his head. She took a breath then nodded, resting her head back down upon the bed as she continued to stare aimlessly out onto the grounds. She listened as he took off his robes and changed into his nightclothes, feeling the weight of her husband lying behind her moments later. She was almost grateful as she felt his arm wrap around her, his hand gently laying upon their unborn child.

"It will be okay, Ma Belle," Rodolphus murmured as he kissed his wife's wild locks.

Bellatrix merely sighed, closing her eyes as she took hold of his hand in her own. Somehow she seriously doubted it would be fine.


	5. Blood

**So I'm sorry this has taken a little longer than I'd hope to upload. I actually ended up writing the first half of this chapter in Arizona a few weeks back and I've been a bit distracted since I've been back. But I've already started on the next chapter so hopefully, I can carry on uploading stories regularly now.**

 **Anyway, please read, enjoy and please do leave a review if you have a moment!**

 **The Purple Black**

* * *

"I'll be fine, Rodolphus," Bellatrix rolled her eyes, walking to her wardrobe as she flicked through her many dresses. Though despite the large collection her options were running low in regards to dresses that would actually fit her now that she was five months pregnant.

"All I ask is that you wait until this afternoon," Rodolphus said, straightening his robes as he watched his wife pull yet another dress from the wardrobe only to stare at the waist for a few moments and throw it back on the rail, "I'll be back from the Ministry in a few hours, I'll take you out for lunch if you'd like."

"No," Bellatrix scoffed, "Rodolphus, I need new clothes, I'm getting fat."

Rodolphus shook his head as he walked over to her, sliding his arms around her waist and resting his hands on her now slightly protruding bump, "You're not fat," he murmured as he kissed her neck, "you're beautiful, Ma Belle."

"You have to say that," Bellatrix scoffed as she leant back into her husband for a moment, "but I'm getting too big for my dresses . . . I need to go shopping, you go to the Ministry and I'll be back by the time you get home."

Rodolphus sighed as the witch pulled away from him, though he smirked as she quickly turned and kissed him for a moment.

"Go," she whispered, whipping off her nightdress and pulling her robes over her head as she watched her husband leave their room shaking his head.

Bellatrix spent far longer than usual in the mirror before she left the manor, her hands running over the slight bump in her dress before she finally cast the spell to conceal her unborn child. Though her sickness had mostly subsided at this point in her pregnancy Bellatrix had still been put off the idea of apparation since her last incident, only doing so when absolutely necessary, therefore she arrived in Hogsmeade via floo powder. She stepped out of the fire at The Hogs Head, ignoring both the barman and the familiar face of one of her fellow Death Eaters in the corner of the old pub. It was not often that she frequented Hogsmeade, however with Hogwarts off for the Christmas holidays and Christmas itself being so close she dreaded the thought of going through the streets of Diagon Alley, especially in her current state. Bellatrix ignored the few witches and wizards on the streets around her as she pulled her robes closer around her to fight against the winter's chill. Though she knew that she had to go to Gladrags to attempt to find some better fitting clothes she could not help herself as she caught sight of the glittering lights of Honeydukes. Looking both ways to see the other people within the street she put a hand on her stomach subconsciously before she crossed the street to the store, curling her lip in distaste of herself and silently blaming her unborn child for the pull towards the sugary goods.

Nearly an hour had passed when Bellatrix Lestrange left Honeydukes, quickly moving away from the store as she carried her magically enhanced handbag close to her as if the plethora of sweets concealed within were dark items that needed to be concealed. She was almost grateful to enter Gladrags Wizardwear, quickly closing the door behind her as she slipped into the relative warmth of the shop.

"Madame Lestrange," the sales witch smiled in polite greeting, Bellatrix merely giving a small nod towards her as she walked over to the dresses.

She spent as little time possible selecting a few dresses to temporarily replace her favourite corseted outfits, Bellatrix had never been one for clothes shopping and was always keen to enter a shop and exit as quickly as possible. She continued to pay at the counter, thinking to herself how she had possibly spent more time selecting sweets to battle her pregnancy cravings as she went to leave the store. That is when she saw her. Bellatrix wasn't sure why she stopped, usually she would pass the woman as quickly as possible if she saw her in public for fear of cursing her to insanity with witnesses at hand. Perhaps it was her pregnancy hormones causing her to reminisce on her lost relationship or even the initial surprise she always experienced when realising the woman was alive and well, though most likely it was the fact of what she was doing. Andromeda Tonks stood in a small section towards the entrance, admiring a collection of baby girl clothes. She held one hand on her stomach (Bellatrix noted that she seemed to be slightly larger than her own concealed state), a smile graced her lips as she absentmindedly ran her fingers over the fabric of a white lace dress.

Bellatrix smirked to herself, slowly walking over to the woman until she was practically right behind her. She leant forward slightly as she practically whispered "I believe that's a little small for you, you've become fat as a house."

Andromeda jumped the moment she heard her old sister's voice, going to turn and draw her wand though she stumbled backwards slightly in her panic. Bellatrix couldn't help but laugh, though quickly put her hand out as Andromeda went to step back into her by mistake, "Clumsy as ever," Bellatrix hissed, pushing her away as she felt the woman graze against her concealed child.

Andromeda quickly righted herself, turning to face the woman, "I am not—!" Andromeda took a breath as she saw the shop assistant look towards the pair, lowering her voice as she glared at her sister's amused smirk, "I am not clumsy."

"You were always bumping into things as a girl," Bellatrix shrugged, looking to the woman's pregnant stomach with distaste, "though you are not the girl you used to be."

"Thankfully," Andromeda scoffed, one hand defensively on her stomach as the other rested on her wand in the pocket of her robes, "what do you want?"

"Aw," Bellatrix pouted, "am I not allowed to say hello to my dear little sister?"

"Drop the act," Andromeda snapped, "our last meeting didn't exactly scream sisterly love now, did it?"

"No," Bellatrix laughed, "but you _did_ scream, you screamed beautifully." Bellatrix smirked as the younger woman could not help but flinch at the memory, "Care for a replay? It may help rid you of the little problem you're having there."

"I see no problem here," Andromeda shook her head, "the only problem I _can_ see in this room is you."

"Says the woman infected with filth," Bellatrix rolled her eyes, "how far along are you? Five, six months? With a girl I assume?"

"Why do you care?" Andromeda sighed, "It has no impact on you whatsoever Bellatrix. You will never go anywhere near my daughter."

"I don't care," Bellatrix scoffed, "I'm just trying to fathom why it's taken so long for you to get rid of the thing. I would have done it the second I found out if I were you—" Bellatrix shuddered, "—not that I would _ever._ "

"Sleep with a muggleborn, a man who is no different to you and I?" Andromeda raised an eyebrow, decidedly ignoring the grimace Bellatrix gave at her comment, "Or have a child? Because we all know you have always been the least likely to follow the pureblood traditions, far more than I. Poor Rodolphus, though I can't imagine even he would be very kind to a wife that won't 'fulfil her duty'. I almost feel sorry for him."

"I do not live to fulfil my husband's desires," Bellatrix said simply, thinking for a moment before she stepped forward. She smirked as Andromeda tightened her grip on her wand, clearly concentrating on standing her ground whilst being ready to defend herself if needs be. "Besides," Bellatrix hummed as stopped so that she was within inches of touching her sister, she leant forward as she lowered her voice slightly as brought her hand up to rest just below her stomach, "I am not failing the House of Black nor Lestrange, if you must know."

Andromeda pulled back, her eyes flickering to her sister's hand then looking to the older witch with a questioning stare, as if she didn't dare say what she now assumed. Bellatrix smirked, turning back towards the door of the shop.

"I'll leave you to your shopping," Bellatrix sighed dramatically, "it's not like you can afford much nowadays so I'm sure your visit here will be short. Poor child, to be raised by such people with such little funds. Maybe Auntie Bella should pay a visit one day, in fact, I surely must."

"I will not let you harm my child, Bellatrix!" Andromeda hissed as Bellatrix put her hand on the shop door ready to leave.

Bellatrix stopped for a moment, looking back to the woman and noting the shop assistant looking in their direction, quickly averting their gaze and busying their selves with a selection of magical socks.

"Oh, _Andy_ ," Bellatrix tutted as she frowned at her sister, "what on earth makes you think I would harm you or your half-blood spawn? In fact, have a present," Bellatrix opened her bag pulling out a packet of coconut ice and throwing it at her sister, biting her lip in amusement as she caught it, "congratulations."

Bellatrix merely giggled to herself as she left the store, hearing the sound of her sister dropping the item on the floor and swearing under her breath as she closed the door behind herself. She didn't mind if she had lost the only box of coconut ice she had brought, it was worth it for the amusement of 'gifting' Andromeda something Bellatrix knew was allergic to. It was the little amusements in annoying those that she hated that Bellatrix sometimes revelled in the most.

* * *

Bellatrix was lain across the couch in the main sitting room, a book rested in one hand as she sucked absentmindedly on the sugar quill in her other hand. She casually read the pages within the dark arts book, her eyes flickering to the clock on the mantle every so often as she wondered why her husband was already over an hour late returning home. She let out a deep sigh, uncaring as she turned another page. Though as Rodolphus finally turned up nearing two hours after his initially agreed return she barely looked towards the fireplace.

"Get caught up?" Bellatrix murmured, now with yet another sugar quill between her lips, "I started lunch without you."

"That's hardly lunch," Rodolphus sighed, walking over to his wife and frowning at the small pile of sweets on the floor next to her seat, "since when did you consume so much sugar?"

"I have a sweet tooth now, apparently, don't touch them or I cannot promise your safety," Bellatrix shrugged, putting her book down and turning her face to look towards her husband, "I ran into Andromeda today," she wrinkled her nose slightly, "bitch has her own filth spawn growing inside of her now. I told her I'd pay her a visit one day."

"Lovely," Rodolphus murmured, seemingly distracted by something as he watched his wife sit up straight.

"Lovely?" Bellatrix raised an eyebrow, "I tell you there's more filth in the world and your response is 'lovely'? _Really_ _Rodolphus_." Bellatrix shook her head, going to search for something else within her sugar stash as she finished the sugar quill she was sucking on, she paused as her husband reached forward, placing a hand on her shoulder, "What? . . . What's wrong with you?"

"We have to go," Rodolphus sighed, "get dressed."

"I am dressed," Bellatrix rolled her eyes, "honestly Rodolphus I don't really feel like going out for lunch now—"

"No," Rodolphus shook his head, "we have orders."

"I—" Bellatrix bit her lip, a hand going to her stomach absentmindedly, "Oh . . . Who's leading?"

"I am," Rodolphus said, hesitating for a moment before he summoned their robes and masks, ". . . conceal the child."

Bellatrix gave a small nod, reaching for her things with little emotion. Usually, she would be asking questions, ready and raring to run into battle without a second thought, though now all she could think of was her unborn child. She warded the child, concealing its existence before she looked back to her husband. Once they were properly dressed she felt her mask burn almost immediately. They left in silence, waiting at their meeting place Bellatrix was glad for her mask covering her features, as she knew her usual expression of glee was absent from her features. It was a simple mission in theory, a suspected order member's home had been located to a small muggle village in the countryside. It would be a massacre, destroy the nearby muggle homes, lure the order member out of their hiding, kill or capture the poor Order fool and return to their master. Bellatrix listened to her husband explain the mission in silence, ignoring her brother-in-law as she felt him walk up beside her.

"I know," Rabastan whispered, nearly inaudible as he made the slightest of gestures towards the woman's stomach, "Rod told me."

"Good for you," Bellatrix hissed, barely moving her lips as she held back her sudden annoyance at her husband for sharing the secret of their child with his brother. The man was barely out of Hogwarts, she knew she would not have trusted the boy with such things if it were up to herself.

"I—"

"Rabastan," Rodolphus called, "concentrate."

Bellatrix could imagine the boys blush, smirking to herself as she watched him lower his head slightly.

"You know your orders," Rodolphus called to the small crowd, "now leave."

Bellatrix watched as her comrades left with the crack of apparation, usually one of the first to leave she waited for her husband as he walked towards her.

"Stay close," Rodolphus murmured, taking hold of her hands, "promise?"

"I'll be fine," Bellatrix assured him despite her slight nerves.

"Bella—"

"Come on," Bellatrix shook her head, "we have to go now."

The man hesitated for a moment more before with the slightest of nods he disapparated, taking his wife along with him. The sound of the chaos was instant. In the mere minute head start their comrades had gotten they had already managed to set fire to more than one of the homes on the small street. It was like something possessed Bellatrix, the smell of fire and the sound of the screams of fear radiating within her as with a small smirk she ran ahead despite her husband's yells of annoyance. A young woman ran from one of the burning buildings, tears were already streaming down her pale features, an apron loosely tied around her waist now bunched into her hands in her fear as if it was her last layer of protection. She froze at her garden gate as she saw Bellatrix walking towards her, the girl was clearly a muggle, though it did not matter. She raised her wand, amused at the muggle's confused stare of terror before she screamed " _Crucio!_ "

The malicious cackle of Bellatrix Lestrange filled the night air just as quickly as the tortured screams of the muggle girl did, joining the soundtrack of the night's chaos. She watched as the muggle twisted and turned on her garden pavement, the witch edging forward until she kicked open the small wooden gate without letting up her curse. It was like music to her ears. Though as she watched a curse fly past her head and cause a small explosion in the house behind them she rolled her eyes. With a sigh she let up the spell, looking to Rabastan for a moment before she returned her gaze to the weeping muggle before her feet.

"Really, Rabastan," Bellatrix mused, "are you trying to distract me from my fun?"

"Please . . ." the girl cried from the floor, "I— . . . what— . . . just stop . . . please . . ."

"I thought I'd lend a hand," Rabastan shrugged, smirking at the quivering girl.

"Please," Bellatrix scoffed, "I—"

Both Death Eaters looked up as they heard the call of Rodolphus. The man was stood outside one of the houses near the end of the street, a few others stood with him as they tried to pull down the wards of what had to be the Order Member's home. With an exaggerated sigh, she looked back to the muggle at her feet.

"Well, this was fun," Bellatrix pouted as she raised her wand to the girl yet again despite her cries, " _Avada Kedavra_ ,"

"Nice," Rabastan huffed in amusement before he ran off towards his brother, "come on, Trixie!"

"I'll kill you too, you know!" Bellatrix growled as she rushed to meet them, arriving at the scene just as the wards were pulled down.

"Stay out here," Rodolphus growled as Bellatrix reached him, motioning for a couple of the men to go in the house ahead of him as he looked to his wife, "wait with Rab and the others."

"I am not a babysitter," Bellatrix growled in return as she went to pass him, glaring as the man grabbed her arm to stop her moving forward, "I thought you wanted to stick close?"

"Keep an eye out," Rodolphus spoke firmly, not letting his wife respond as he went into the home.

"You little—argh!" Bellatrix cursed the man as she turned back to the street, watching the relative silence of the once occupied burning homes around them.

"I don't need a babysitter, you know," Rabastan scoffed, rolling his eyes at the sounds of battle behind him.

"Yes, you do." Bellatrix hissed, "However _I_ need to be in there. Rodolphus and I are supposed to stick together in these things . . . unless I go running off, that's entirely different."

"Of course it is," Rabastan laughed, "you know—"

They all stood to attention, wands gripped firmly in their hands and raised as the crack of apparation sounded around them. There were only around five order members that had suddenly appeared, though that still left them outnumbered with the few people that had remained outside the property. The duels started instantly. Bellatrix immediately went for what she knew would be the most challenging target, narrowing her eyes as she sent spell after spell at Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody, deflecting his spells and laughing as one deflected and smashed one of the upper windows behind her.

"Is that all you've got!?" Bellatrix laughed.

Rodolphus ran to the window, ignoring his comrades as they continued to duel their targets behind him. His eyes widened slightly as he watched the duels ongoing at the front of the property. Bellatrix was fighting furiously, matching each of her opponents spells hit for hit. To anyone else she would have seemed the top of her form, though as he watched her take a step back, one hand instinctively going towards her stomach in defence, he knew that the child she carried was slowing her down. He looked to the others, too stuck in their own battles to even think that Bellatrix, the most experienced Death Eater of their group, could need any form of help. He let out a growl of annoyance, looking to the men behind him.

"Hurry it up!" he yelled, before running from the building.

Mad-Eye let out a yell of annoyance as Bellatrix got a shot in at him, gritting his teeth as he tried to ignore the searing pain going through his leg. The witch threw back her head and laughed. It was enough of an opening for him to get her. Without hesitation he yelled a curse, watching with slight satisfaction as the dark witch gasped and staggered backwards. Bellatrix raised her hand to her right shoulder, feeling the dizziness in her head before she even saw the blood on her fingers as she took it away. She struggled to keep herself up, her wand pointed at the man as she cast a shield as best she could. She barely registered the feeling as a strong pair of arms came up behind her and propped her up, knowing instantly not to struggle as she heard her name whispered in her ear by the familiar voice. Their opponents were closing in on them. Rodolphus looked around, replacing Bella's shield with his own before he cursed under his breath.

"Retreat!" he yelled, ignoring his brother turning to him quickly as he could imagine the expression he held under his mask, "NOW!"

Bellatrix barely heard the sounds of apparation around her, though her mind screamed that she had to fight, had to stay, had to kill the man who had cut her. She barely noticed the familiar pull of side along apparation as she began to lose consciousness.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed the latest update. Please do leave a review if you have a moment as I love reading them, or if you'd like head on over to my Tumblr and ask me anything!**

 **The Purple Black**


	6. Pain

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 **As always, please read, enjoy and please do leave a review if you have a moment!**

 **The Purple Black**

* * *

"Bella," Rodolphus called her name, but she could not see him, she barely had the strength to open her eyes. "Bella, come on," he whispered hurriedly, "come on, you have to wake up. He'll be here soon."

It took more strength than she would have cared to admit, though at the mention of _him_ she forced her eyes to open. Her vision was blurred and she felt a sickness in the pit of her stomach, but as she blinked she gradually looked up to see her concerned husband face mere inches from her own as he stared down at her.

"Drink," Rodolphus said, pressing a bottle to the woman's lips and giving her a quick smile, looking around the room as she drank the blood replenishing potion, "you lost a lot of blood. I healed you."

"Where—?" Bellatrix coughed as she finished the drink.

"I had to take you with me to report," Rodolphus shook his head, "I couldn't leave him waiting, but I couldn't leave you . . ."

Bellatrix let out a small groan, lifting her head as she soon realised she was laid across her husband's lap on the floor of their ballroom, clearly where he had arranged to meet The Dark Lord after their mission.

"What happened?" Bellatrix murmured, noting that her unborn child was no longer concealed, clearly Rodolphus had been worried about the child's safety and removed the concealment charm himself.

"It's okay," Rodolphus shook his head, helping his wife as she sat up, "be careful."

"I'm fine," Bellatrix hissed, "what happened of the mission, Rodolphus?"

"I—" Rodolphus winced as he felt Lord Voldemort enter the wards of their home, "stand up, come on."

Bellatrix did not hesitate to obey, letting her husband take her hand to help her to her feet she became painfully aware of the extent of her injury. From the side of her right breast to the top of her collar bone the material of her robes was slashed open, the near black fabric still moist with her spilt blood. She went to lift her right hand to touch the fabric to see the damage below, though she hissed in pain at the mere slightest movement of her arm. Rodolphus snapped his gaze towards her, however before a single syllable left his mouth the doors of the ballroom opened.

"My lord," the pair murmured in unison, bowing their heads as they heard the footsteps of their master coming towards them.

Bellatrix fixed her gaze upon the floor, not moving and trying not to look any further at the damage to her robes as she could see her master walking to the front of them. She barely took a breath.

"What happened?" Lord Voldemort's voice was still, void of emotion as he addressed his servants.

Bellatrix raised her head, swallowing her fear as she looked to see her master stood mere feet from him, his gaze fixed upon the blood on her dress. She squashed her instincts to place a protective hand on her stomach, she knew that her Lord did not need any reminding of her current state, especially not now. All she could think of was their first discussion of her unborn child, how he had said the child was only safe 'for now' and how she wasn't to disappoint him. She had failed him. She took a deep breath as her master's eyes raised to her own, ready to confirm his worries of her abilities to continue serving him in her current state.

"They got away, My Lord," Rodolphus spoke before she could, his voice void of emotion as he stared straight ahead, though as their master's gaze turned to him he could not help but flinch.

"How?" Lord Voldemort hissed.

"The Order . . . Backup arrived, My Lord," Rodolphus said simply.

"You were outnumbered?" Lord Voldemort asked, his gaze flickering to Bellatrix for a moment.

"Yes, My Lord," Rodolphus said, "B-By a couple of men."

"Is this how you became injured, Bellatrix?" Voldemort asked, now staring directly at the witch again.

"I was caught off guard, My Lord," Bellatrix spoke quickly, looking towards the floor, "I was duelling the Auror Moody."

"You have battled him before . . ."

"I have, My Lord . . ." Bellatrix said, unable to help the small gasp that escaped her lips as her lord suddenly grasped her chin in his hand, looking deeply into her dark eyes.

"You are showing Bellatrix . . ." his voice was barely a whisper, sending a shiver down the witches spine.

"I-I concealed the child, R-Rodolphus undid the spell when we got here to check the b—"

"You promised me you would not become distracted, assured me that this child would not affect your duty to me." Lord Voldemort curled his lip, looking down at the woman's stomach before he looked back into her eyes, "It is slowing you down already."

"No—"

"Yes," Lord Voldemort hissed, "do not lie, Lestrange."

"It was my fault, My Lord!" Rodolphus quickly spoke up, looking to the pair still locked in each other's gaze, he paused for a moment to ensure the man was not about to speak again before he continued "I saw Bellatrix with Rabastan and the others outside, I thought—I _foolishly_ thought—that the men inside the home could complete the task on their own. They were outnumbered outside, surrounded. Bellatrix—"

Lord Voldemort pushed Bellatrix away from him, narrowing his eyes at the man as his wife stumbled to keep her balance. "You were distracted," Lord Voldemort hissed, "this child of yours swayed you to join the battle outside when you were needed within."

"Bellatrix was harmed," Rodolphus said, his voice surprisingly calm even as his masters wand raised towards him, "she is a good warrior, though we were failing with those around us—"

" _You_ have failed me," Lord Voldemort hissed, Rodolphus bowing his head slightly as his wife stared towards him with wide eyes, "you both have . . . _Crucio!_ "

His whole body stiffened, his teeth firmly gritted shut as he held his ground for mere seconds before he fell to his knees. Voldemort sneered at his servant, twisting his wand as with a gut-wrenching yell Rodolphus Lestrange fell forward, his hands going up to his head as he could not help but pull at his own hair. The Dark Wizard's gaze shifted to his other servant, though he did not waver the spell as he stared directly at the man's wife. Her hands were gripped onto the fabric of her dress, her eyes still wide as saucepans as she could not help but show her fear. This was it, he would torture her husband and then be done with the child. She had failed him and she would suffer. Even over the yells of her husband, she could almost hear her own heartbeat in her chest as she feared for herself, she could not help but think that they had earned as this. She had broken her promises, she was distracted, she may have been able to defeat Moody if she were more stable on her feet, she may have been able to stop all of this. The screams stopped, Bellatrix blinking as if snapped out of a trance as she looked to her husband. The man was panting for air, his hands still knotted in his hair as the rest of his body slumped forward in defeat. With a jet of light, the man was thrown onto his back, using the last of his strength to turn his head to his wife. She was caught off guard as for the second time that night her chin was held painfully in her master's grip and she was forced to stare directly into his eyes, still full of fury.

"You are trying my patience," he hissed, though Bellatrix dared not move an inch, let alone speak, as he was so close she could feel his breath on her face, "any other servant would have been disposed of by now for such insolence!"

He watched as the woman flinched slightly, seeing tears quickly threatening to spill over the rim of her eyes. He curled his lip in disgust, throwing her away yet again, the witch unable to keep her balance this time as she fell to the floor.

"You are no longer to attend the important missions, Bellatrix," Voldemort spat, "We shall reassess when this child is no longer inside of you."

Without another moments notice he swept from the room, though both of his servants remained still and silent. Only when she felt their master leave the wards of their home did Bellatrix breathe a sigh of relief, wrapping her arms around her stomach.

"Bella . . ." Rodolphus called.

She had almost forgotten he was there, almost sure that he had passed out from the pain. She turned her head to the man slightly, watching as he slowly pulled himself to sit up. It took her a while before she came to her senses, staring at him blankly for a few moments until he repeated her name again and she quickly scrambled over to him.

"Be careful," Rodolphus hissed, the woman raising an eyebrow before he continued, "you're still hurt."

"I'm fine," Bellatrix scoffed, drawing her wand slowly and carefully running the wood along the length of his back as she tried to ease the residual pain of the Cruciatus Curse. She furrowed her brows as she noticed the marks on his scalp from where he had pulled his hair so viciously and clearly dug his nails into flesh, she sighed and went to heal the man further but he reached up and grabbed her wrist.

Rodolphus looked up to his wife his features near void of emotion apart from the small glint of concern within his dark eyes. He raised his spare hand to her stomach, caressing the small bump of their child with his thumb.

"It will be okay," Rodolphus said, his voice steady and firm.

She knew it wasn't a question, it wasn't up for discussion or open to any doubt, she was unsure if it was for her own sake to calm her or to merely reassure himself. She bit back any comment, not voicing her doubts as she gave the slightest of nods. Bellatrix watched as he let out a breath, hesitating for a moment before she leant forward and kissed him for a moment.

"Come on," Bellatrix murmured, "this child is tiring me. Join me in bed?"

Rodolphus nodded slightly, not missing the fact that his wife let him help her from the floor and to their room without protest.

* * *

The days turned into weeks and the weeks into months far slower than Bellatrix Lestrange would have thought possible. Though she watched her husband be called for duty just as often as usual, if not more so, she was left behind. Not only had she not been called for the 'more important missions', she would not have been called at all if it weren't for the occasional meeting. However even when Bellatrix was summoned to meetings she had nothing to report, nothing to be instructed on. As the others smirked behind her back at the amusement of the Dark Lord's right hand woman seemingly losing favour for some unknown reason, she could not help but wonder if she was invited merely for the fact that these meetings were held within her own manor and her absence would therefore look suspicious. She found herself longing for her child to be born, simply so that she could begin to prove her worth to her master again. Even as she lazed around the manor, usually filling herself with the latest purchase from Honeydukes, even as she felt her unborn child move inside her, she could not help but sometimes resent the thing. It was merely a stark reminder of how much she had failed her master. Rodolphus had tried to cheer her moods and warm her to the child again, buying her things for the baby, having the nursery decorated, it all just sent a chill up her spine as she thought of the uncertainty of her future.

"You'll feel better when the baby is here," Narcissa said, sipping her tea as she watched her sister with a slightly unapproving stare as the dark witch sucked on yet another sugar quill.

It was April now and the two sisters were sat within the grounds of Lestrange Manor enjoying the unusually warm spring day whilst sat at the wrought iron patio set. Bellatrix turned her gaze to her sister for a moment, rolling her eyes and putting the sugar quill down as she finished it.

"That's what Rodolphus says," Bellatrix murmured.

"Well, it's true," Narcissa said simply, "at the moment you're all full of hormones and clearly not comfortable carrying around all that extra weight."

"I am not fat," Bellatrix growled, "it's the child."

"I didn't say you were," Narcissa sighed, "you know what I meant, stop looking for a fight."

"You couldn't fight me if you tried," Bellatrix scoffed, "though I think your chances of a fair fight are probably as good as they've ever been right now. Care to try?"

"No," Narcissa said, putting her teacup down upon the table, "you're just bored and . . . well . . ."

"Well . . . ?" Bellatrix raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing," Narcissa shook her head quickly, looking out towards the grounds again.

" _Cissa_ ," Bellatrix narrowed her eyes at the woman.

"Well . . ." Narcissa looked to her sister for only a moment, soon deciding that she would rather not look directly into her gaze as she quickly looked away again, "you seem scared—I mean it's perfectly normal, you're nervous. All women are nervous. Merlin knows I'd be nervous at the thought of pushing something like that out of my—"

"Narcissa," Bellatrix rolled her eyes, unable but to help herself as she smirked at her sister's slight blush and murmured apology, "pain doesn't bother me. I've experienced my fair share of the Cruciatus curse, I'm sure I will be fine."

"I'd rather the Cruciatus from the stories I've heard," Narcissa mumbled.

"You have the pain threshold of a flobberworm," Bellatrix scoffed.

"I am nothing like a flobber worm, thank you very much," Narcissa wrinkled her nose before frowning slightly, "do they even experience pain? They don't _do_ anything."

"Oh yes," Bellatrix smirked, "boring creatures really, though I did lack for people to test the curse on when I was at school and they are readily available."

Narcissa paled slightly, sitting up straighter in her seat as she chose to ignore that comment, "Do you have a name yet?"

"Yes," Bellatrix nodded, "and no, I won't be telling you. That's for Rodolphus and I to know and you to find out . . . besides I know it will drive you insane and I may not have forgiven you for the fat comment."

"I—!" Narcissa let out a huff of annoyance before shaking her head and standing, "Come on, see me out, I have to get home before Lucius returns."

"Heaven forbid Lucy returns to an empty manor," Bellatrix teased, laughing at her sister as she rolled her eyes before walking her out of the manor.

She didn't do much for the rest of the day, though she hated to admit it as her due date came ever closer she had found herself with barely enough energy to get her throughout the day without at least napping. Rodolphus had found her asleep on the sofa when he had returned to the manor, one hand draped over the edge of her seat dangling towards what was becoming her normal small pile of sweets. It was almost painful to wake her, as she laid with her raven black hair covering her features, her left hand resting protectively on her large stomach, she had not looked so innocent since they were both children.

"Bella . . ." Rodolphus spoke quietly as he stroked her hair from her face, he smiled slightly as she groaned in her half-awake state, eventually looking up to him through her heavy-lidded eyes, "hungry?"

"Tired . . ." Bellatrix groaned.

He couldn't help but let out a huff of laughter, "You've stuffed yourself with sweets again," he mused as he looked to the empty wrappers surrounding her, "how on earth you can sleep with all that sugar in your system—"

"I'll hex you if you try and ridicule my cravings again," Bellatrix narrowed her eyes as she scolded him half-heartedly, slowly sitting herself up more in her seat.

"Understood," Rodolphus nodded, ". . . bed or food?"

"Bed . . ." Bellatrix yawned, not caring that she could see through the open curtains that the sun was barely setting, ". . . food, then bed . . . food in bed."

"Right," Rodolphus nodded, helping his wife to her feet, "your wish is my command."

"Damned better be," Bellatrix grumbled, letting herself lean on her husband as he helped her up to their bedroom.

It transpired that Rod's wife had spent most of the day sleeping when taking into consideration the time she had eventually gone to bed. Though at nearing nine months pregnant it was to be forgiven. Considering that she was rudely awoken in the early hours of the next morning in pain, it was a good thing.


	7. Arrival

**So, I am so sorry I haven't updated lately! I've basically had over a month of being ill, problems with my glasses then I went and got promoted at work so got a bit busy there. I will try and get back to regular updates, sorry again!**

 **As always please read, enjoy and please do leave a review if you have a moment as I love hearing your thoughts!**

 **The Purple Black**

* * *

"Rodolphus . . ." Bella's voice was but a whisper, barely penetrating the still darkness of their room as she stared wide-eyed at the ceiling almost scared to move. The man beside her didn't stir, sleeping soundly next to her oblivious to the goings on in his own bed. She took a deep breath, slowly inching her hand down between her legs in the darkness, a small gasp coming from her lips as she realised her fears when her touch was met with the undeniable wetness of the skirt of her nightdress. "Rodolphus," she spoke more firmly this time, though barely rose her voice. She chewed her lip, closing her eyes for a moment as she gathered her thoughts.

Rodolphus Lestrange was quickly awoken when his wife decided to abruptly shove him with such a force that he had to catch himself off the edge of his side of the bed.

"What?" Rodolphus groaned, silently cursing his wife and sighing as he realised quite how close he had come to hitting the cold floor. "Can you not sleep again?" with a roll of his eyes at the woman's silence he turned to his wife, "You could think of a better way to wake me up, Bella." Rodolphus paused as he saw his wife's face still frozen in her wide-eyed stare, quickly moving closer towards her "Bella? What's—" he stopped as he was close enough to touch the witch's body with his own, wrinkling his nose as the brief thought that his wife had soiled herself came through his mind.

She turned her head to look at him, shaking her head as she grasped onto her stomach. "Rod . . ."

His eyes suddenly widened in realisation, ". . . shit."

"One way of putting it . . ." Bella breathed, her breath quickly turning into a quick gasp of pain.

"Bella," Rodolphus spoke in concern, quickly pulling the sheets off of her and casting a quick charm on her to remove the mess that had been created already.

"I'm fine . . ." Bella shook her head, "it doesn't hurt . . . just a shock."

"I'll get the healer," Rodolphus made to get off the bed, soon falling back again when his wife grasped his arm with surprising strength.

"You will do no such thing," Bellatrix hissed, narrowing her eyes at the man, "I don't need the bloody healer here to annoy me until he absolutely has to be."

"But Bella, Greer—"

"Greer is a git," Bellatrix snapped, "he infuriates me. Why we ever had to agree to have him—"

"Bella, we're Death Eaters, he looks after the Death Eaters. We don't need to make up excuses with him for why you won't take your robes off for the sake of covering your mark, besides—" Rodolphus shook his head, "We're not having this discussion. I'm getting him."

"Rod," her voice was almost begging, a small pout on her lips as she played her husband with her usual skill even in her current position, "he said when I'm five minutes apart. It's ten minutes . . . hold me?"

Rodolphus considered the witch for a moment before with a sigh he sat back against the headrest next to his wife, wrapping his arm around her and letting her rest into his side. ". . . How long have you been getting cramps?"

Bellatrix closed her eyes, one hand stroking her stomach as she mumbled her response, "A few hours . . ." she couldn't help but let out a small huff of laughter as she didn't need to see her husband's face to know the reaction of both shock and annoyance on his features.

"Yet you've only just woken me up?" Rodolphus tried to keep the annoyance from his voice, rolling his eyes as his wife moved her grip to his nightshirt as if she was concerned he would try to get up to defy her wishes, "Bella this is serious, this is not something to be—"

"Shhhh, Roddy," Bella purred, "enjoy the silence for a little while. It's likely it won't last long and Merlin knows when we'll get to enjoy it again . . ."

She wasn't wrong. Within hours Bellatrix was groaning in her pains, intermittently swearing under her breath. She had decided she did not want to speak to Greer, only making conversation when absolutely necessary. Though she did decide to tell him what she thought of him when he made the foolish suggestion to call for her mother when pointing out that Rodolphus would leave the room at one point and she may want the support of her mother. Rodolphus had never seen her speak so openly (and crudely) of her distaste for her mother in the presence of a near stranger. He was almost grateful when the witch finally asked for her sister instead, making an excuse to leave the room to speak to their elf to summon the witch. As he felt a presence re-enter the wards of their home he quickly leant over his wife, assuring her she would be okay and of his love for her. She merely looked at him for a moment, she didn't need to say anything, he knew she would never speak of her feelings when they were not alone. She gave a small nod and closed her eyes, leaning her head back into the pillows as he left the room.

"Rodolphus," Narcissa breathed, a reassuring smile on her lips as the man descended the stairs towards them, "is she doing okay?"

"Fine," Rodolphus said, noting Lucius stood just behind the man before he looked back to his sister-in-law, "she's swearing, insulting the healer and despite her clear pain has outright refused to take any of the pain numbing potions."

"Sounds like my sister," Narcissa couldn't help but let out a small laugh, "I take it she's in your room?"

Rodolphus nodded, gesturing for the woman to pass him, "Good luck."

Narcissa quickly ascended the stairs, leaving the men alone in the entrance hall together.

"You look like shit," Lucius scoffed, a smirk on his lips.

"As would you if you had experienced what I have for hours on end," Rodolphus rolled his eyes, "perhaps one day you'll eventually get that joy, Malfoy."

Lucius shook his head at the subtle dig, raising an eyebrow as he gestured in the direction of the man's study, "Perhaps we should have a drink?"

"For once you make a sensible suggestion," Rodolphus laughed, nodding and taking the man to his study. As he walked to his liquor cabinet he caught his reflection in the glass, sighing as he realised his brother-in-law was correct; though he had managed to change out of his night clothes hours ago his hair was still out of place and his eyes were clearly marked with his tiredness. He poured the both of them a drink before pulling out his wand so that he could at least quickly neaten his hair.

"I can imagine Bellatrix is . . . interesting in labour . . ." Lucius mused.

"Interesting?" Rodolphus raised an eyebrow as he pocketed his wand again, "There is nothing _interesting_ about it. She groans, swears and almost broke my hand despite it all when I offered her support."

"Sounds like Bellatrix," Lucius shrugged.

Rodolphus rolled his eyes, sitting at his desk as he wondered why on earth Narcissa had thought it had been a good idea to bring her husband with her. She had probably thought he would make good company for him rather than being left alone, though as they made basic conversation he could not help but hear the voice of his wife in his mind pointing out all of the man's little annoyances. He was almost grateful when the man was silenced by the sound of Bella's yell echoing throughout the manor. Lucius drained the remainder of the fire whiskey in his glass, making his way to the bottle to refill both of their glasses when he swore in shock and set to berating the Lestrange elf at its sudden appearance in the middle of the room.

"Shut up!" Rodolphus hissed at Lucius as he sat straight in his seat, the elf looked shaken, its eyes were wide and from the way it was holding it's arm it looked as if it had a quick hex thrown its way, "What is it?"

"Mistress wishes to see Master," the elf spoke shakily, "now. She said now."

Rodolphus didn't question it, ignoring Lucius as he opened his mouth to speak and rushing from his seat to almost run to his wife. "What's happening?" he snapped as Narcissa came into view standing outside his bedroom, looking rather dishevelled for having been in the room with his wife for less than an hour.

"She won't tell us," Narcissa sighed, "we told her that you shouldn't go in there until the baby is born but she doesn't listen."

"Good," was all he could think to say as he almost knocked into the woman in his eagerness to reach his wife. She was covered in sweat, her dark curls wilder than usual as with her right hand she was gripping onto the bedpost for dear life, her left arm wrapped around herself, "Ma Belle . . ."

Bellatrix shook her head, nodding her head for the man to come beside her. He obeyed her without question, sitting on the bed beside her and taking her left hand in his own. "What's wrong? You can do this Bella, I—"

"I know," Bellatrix spoke through gritted teeth, taking a deep breath after a few moments she seemed to relax ever so slightly before turning her head to her husband, "I can't . . . he . . . not now . . ." her eyes went to her left arm.

The realisation washed over him like an ice cold rush, his gaze slowly went down to his wife's arm. He ignored the witch as she stiffened in her pain again, not paying attention to the now vice-like grip on his hand as he watched the skull and snake burning into her skin.

"No," Narcissa gasped, "not now. You'll have to ignore it."

"I can't ignore it you idiot!" Bellatrix screeched, inadvertently letting a tear escape her dark eyes.

"You can't ignore it. It's painful, Narcissa," Rodolphus shook his head, "it gets worse the longer you leave it."

"The pain is nothing compared to this," Bellatrix let out a bark of laughter before shaking her head before looking to her husband again "g-go. Go to him for me."

Rodolphus considered the witch for a moment, "Bella—"

"Go!" Bellatrix snapped, pushing the man away, "Go now! He'll only come here if I ignore him! H-He can't see me like this. Rodolphus, go . . . _please_."

It was the final word that convinced him, it was rarely used by Bellatrix Lestrange which only made it hold oh so much more weight. He gave a small nod, "Where?"

"U-Usual place," Bellatrix panted through her pain, "h- _his place_."

Rodolphus gave a quick nod, looking to Greer "Look after her," he demanded before sweeping from the room.

* * *

It was cold, dark and so quiet that Rodolphus would have sworn he could hear the beating of his heart even over the soft thud of his own footsteps as he walked down the narrow hallway. He took a deep breath as he reached the solid oak door at the end of the hallway, taking a moment before he reached out and turned the silver handle and slipped silently into the room. Lord Voldemort had his back turned to him, staring out of the window onto the grounds making Rodolphus wonder if he had watched him on his journey up to the building.

He knelt respectfully, bowing his head as he muttered "My Lord . . ."

"You're not Bellatrix," Lord Voldemort breathed.

"No, m—" Rodolphus swallowed as he looked up to see the piercing eyes of his master boring into him, "No, My Lord."

"I did not call for you . . ." The dark wizard narrowed his eyes at the man.

"Bella—"

"Has your wife become so disobedient that she cannot answer the call of her _master_ , Rodolphus?"

"No!" Rodolphus shook his head immediately, "Never, My Lord."

"Then why isn't she here?" Lord Voldemort asked.

"Sh-She's having the baby, My Lord," Rodolphus said, "She's in labour."

The Dark Lord cocked his head to the side a little, considering the man on his knees before him as if he was trying to decide if bringing a child into the world was a good enough excuse to ignore his summons.

"She would be here if she could, My Lord," Rodolphus said, "I swear. She sent me in her place to explain herself, My Lord."

The man did not look pleased, running his tongue over his thin lips for a moment before he turned and walked back to his previous place to look from the window, "I can see this child becoming problematic, Lestrange."

"No, My Lord," Rodolphus breathed as he pulled himself to his feet, going to walk to his master though he stopped himself as he thought better of it.

"You do not agree with me?"

". . . No, My Lord," Rodolphus shook his head, "Bellatrix will be back to fighting condition soon, we will not fail in our service to you. We will continue to serve and will not fail you. This child will if anything be a good thing, My Lord."

"A good thing?" Lord Voldemort snickered as he turned back to the man.

"Yes, My Lord," Rodolphus calmed himself, bowing his head slightly, "They will grow to be a great warrior for you. We will train them and raise them on your views alone. The child will be unstoppable when it reaches the right age."

"The right age?" Lord Voldemort raised an eyebrow, "That would be many years from now." The man raised his hand as Rodolphus went to speak again, "I need to consider the options . . . Go . . . Call for me when the child is born."

Rodolphus bit his tongue, assuring himself that it was not wise to speak again as much as his mind called out for him to do so. Though protests rang through his mind he merely nodded, giving a short bow before he swiftly left the room.

* * *

He knew something had changed the moment he returned home. He stopped barely for a moment before he determined he would go straight to his wife, rules of propriety be damned he would be with his wife no matter the comments he was bound to hear for it. He could lie to himself and say that the woman needed him, though he knew she was strong and she had her sister, in truth he needed her. He did not want to think of what his master would do the moment he was called, it made his insides turn and unthinkable thoughts of defiance threaten to come over him. If he was to risk his child being taken, he would spend every moment he could with them. Just as he reached the room, his hand outstretched and his speech to calm the woman already prepared in his mind, he froze on the spot as Narcissa Malfoy opened the door. She jumped slightly, putting her hand to her chest and shaking her head at the man.

"I knew you would try to come in here again," Narcissa sighed, though a small smile graced her lips, "Luckily for yourself I was just about to see if you had returned anyway."

"The baby . . .?" Rodolphus breathed.

"Go see . . ." Narcissa smiled, letting the man pass her as she exited the room.

"Belle . . ."

Bellatrix Lestrange tore her gaze away from the bundle in her arms for the first time as she heard her name, the dazed smile temporarily leaving her face.

"Rod . . ." she sighed, instinctively holding the child closer to herself as he walked over to them.

"What's wrong?" Rodolphus looked from his child to his wife and back again as he took note of the single tear that fell down her face.

"Nothing . . ." Bella closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath as she felt the weight of her husband sitting down on the bed next to her.

"Bella . . ." He pulled the blanket back slightly, his breath caught in his throat as he took in the small curled tuft of raven black hair, the dark eyes so much like their mother wide and alert as the child looked around as best they could. Their mouth opened in a small perfect circle as he grazed their rosy cheek with his finger in amazement, "Bella . . ."

"This is our only child," Bella said, her voice far firmer than she had expected as she looked to her husband, "I can't do it again—not the birth I mean, I just . . . I can't, what with . . ."

Rodolphus did not need her to explain, he knew what she meant. She would not disappoint her master twice. Though as he reached out and took her face in his hand, wiping away her single tear with his thumb he knew what she was hiding. He knew she thought she had failed him as well.

"Promise me . . ." Bellatrix whispered.

Rodolphus looked to the child, thinking of all of the troubles they had caused, thinking of how it was all worth it for that perfect bundle now in his wife's arms. He gave a small nod.

"I promise," he nodded, " . . . She's beautiful. I would trade the thought of a hundred sons all for her . . . and you."

Bellatrix breathed a small laugh, shaking her head, "No need to be so emotional about it, a simple yes would have sufficed."

Rodolphus couldn't help but smile, reaching down to his daughter as he let the girl take his finger in his fist. "We should name her . . . We agreed you would have the first name for a girl, no?"

"Yes . . . and you her middle name," Bellatrix said.

"Do you have a name?" Rodolphus asked, his eyes settling on the mark on his wife's arm as she cradled their child to her chest, "I'm sure you do . . ."

"Yes . . ." Bellatrix nodded, "Ayla . . ."

"Ayla?" Rodolphus murmured, smiling as the woman nodded slightly, "it's beautiful . . . Ayla Belle Lestrange."

Bellatrix couldn't help but scoff slightly, biting her lip through a grin as her husband raised an amused eyebrow at her.

"The poor girl," Bellatrix sighed.

"It's beautiful," Rodolphus said simply, "My two beautiful girls."

"Oh please," Bellatrix shook her head, rocking Ayla slightly as she fussed in her arms, ". . . It's not terrible, I suppose."

"Certainly not."

"Do you want to hold your daughter?" Bellatrix asked, leaning her head back against her pillows slightly as she could feel her tiredness setting over her.

"I do . . . But after . . ." Rodolphus stood from the bed, ignoring his wife as she lifted her head to look to him.

"Rodolphus . . ." Bellatrix called, "Rodolphus . . . what happened? What did he want? Why did he call me?"

"I don't know—" he looked to her as she began to speak again, "It will be okay. We will be okay, all three of us."

Her eyes darted to his left arm as the man began to pull up his sleeve, her grip on her child tightening again as she felt her heart beginning to pound in her chest. He hesitated as his hand hovered over his mark, looking straight into the dark eyes his wife shared with their daughter, as if asking permission before he moved.

"It will be okay," Bellatrix nodded, though as she watched him press the black skull and snake she closed her eyes, preparing herself for what was to come.


	8. Introductions

**Sorry for the wait for the latest chapter, life has been a little hectic here still at the moment and I had a major writers block but I think the writers block may be slowly fading now?**

 **As always, please read, enjoy and please do let me know your thoughts as I love hearing from you guys even if it's just a couple of words!**

 **The Purple Black**

* * *

"I need to get up . . ." Bellatrix whispered the first words either of them had spoken since Rodolphus had summoned their master almost ten minutes ago, "I can't be laid here when he comes."

Rodolphus looked to his wife as if considering if he should argue with the woman or not before he spoke "Can you move?"

Bellatrix thought for a moment, conscious of the aches and pains of her body, her small daughter laid soundly cradled in her arms against her chest. She shook her head. "I-I don't know if I could stand . . ."

"It will be okay . . ." Rodolphus murmured, reaching out to his new daughter and gently brushing her rosy cheeks with the pad of his thumb.

Bellatrix took a deep breath, shuffling herself to sit up slightly more on the bed, grateful as Rodolphus helped her with her pillows. As Rodolphus went to pull away when Bellatrix was seated, he froze, the feel of their master crossing the wards of their home unmistakable.

"I'll go greet him," Rodolphus murmured, taking one last look at the two on the bed before he walked from the room and towards the front of their home. As he reached the bottom of the main staircase he paused, looking towards the large front doors, with a flick of his wrist the doors opened. He dropped to one knee in a bow as his master walked over the threshold.

"Rodolphus," Lord Voldemort's cold voice sent a chill straight through the man as he stopped within the entrance, "stand."

"My Lord," Rodolphus murmured, looking up to his master to see his judgemental stare passing over him.

"You have a child?" Lord Voldemort asked.

"A daughter, My Lord." Rodolphus nodded.

Voldemort seemed to consider this for a moment before he gave a small nod, "I take it she is with Bellatrix in your bedroom?"

"Yes, My Lord," Rodolphus nodded "I'll take you—"

"Not necessary," The Dark Lord shook his head, "go wait elsewhere, Rodolphus."

The man nodded again, through the fear in the pit of his stomach not caring about how the Dark Lord knew the way to his marital bed without his assistance. He watched as the Dark Wizard ascended the stairs before he forced himself to temporarily retire to his study, sure a strong drink may help settle his fright.

* * *

Bellatrix looked down at her daughter, wrapped up in the little girl's beautiful dark eyes as she tried not to think of her Master for once in her life. Though as she heard the slow footsteps in the corridor outside of her room she couldn't help but turn her attention to the door of her room, cradling her daughter closely. She took a deep breath as the handle of her door slowly turned and gathered herself as best as she could.

"My Lord," Bellatrix breathed as she met the emotionless stare of her master, quickly bowing her head and wincing as the little girl in her arms stirred slightly, "I would stand, I swear but—"

"You cannot stand, Bella," The Dark Lord said, closing the door behind him as he entered the room. His servant looked towards him, barely disguising her fear on her features, "This is the child?"

"Y-Yes, My Lord," Bellatrix breathed, "my daughter . . ."

"She has a name?" he asked.

"Ayla," Bellatrix said, unable to help the small flicker of a smile as she looked to her daughter, "Ayla Belle Lestrange—Rodolphus chose her middle name . . . My Lord."

He walked over to the bed without a word, noting the woman trying not to cradle her child too tightly as he eventually stopped beside the pair. Bellatrix tried not to look at him, trying not to think of the terrible thoughts going through her mind as she instead looked down at her daughter. She forced herself not to flinch as he reached for the girl, watching as he moved the blanket slightly to better look at her face. He paused for a moment before he reached one of his long fingers to stroke the girls face. Little Ayla stirred, looking up at her mother, her lower lip began to quiver and it took all of Bella's strength not to move an inch or shush the child. She let out a small cry and Bellatrix widened her eyes in horror as she could see her master's wand moving towards the child.

"My Lord," Bellatrix whimpered, "I—"

He twisted his wand and the girl grew silent, Bellatrix letting out an involuntary sound of fright. It took her far too long to realise that Ayla was merely asleep.

"I will give you two weeks to recover," Lord Voldemort spoke matter of factly, "then I expect you to return to your duties in your full capacity. Do you understand?"

"Y-Yes, My Lord," Bellatrix nodded, "Of course, I won't fail you, My Lord."

"See that you don't," he said, "I do not want this child to become a distraction . . . when she is old enough you will train her to join our ranks."

"Of course," Bellatrix breathed, "she will be a great warrior, it will be an honour for both her and us, My Lord."

The Dark Lord looked to the woman for a moment before he merely nodded, "I will summon you in two weeks time." He said, then left the room as quickly as he had entered.

Bellatrix let out a breath she did not realise she was holding, grabbing her wand from the side and instantly taking the sleeping charm off of her daughter. She didn't care that the girl cried, relishing in the sound as she held her to her chest, unable to help the few tears that fell from her own eyes. The girl was almost calm when Rodolphus rushed back into the room, though her own tears were still flowing.

"Bella," Rodolphus breathed, running to the bed and instantly checking their daughter. Bellatrix shook her head, gesturing for the man to take the child. He bit his lip, taking the girl gently into his own arms, the moment of holding his daughter for the first time slightly dampened by his quietly sobbing wife, "What happened?" Rodolphus asked, "What did he do?"

"N-Nothing," Bellatrix took a breath, wiping her tears away "f-fucking hormones . . . I'm fine . . ."

"What did he say?" Rodolphus asked quietly, gently rocking his daughter in his arms.

Bellatrix shook her head, leaning back into her pillows, "Nothing . . . She's fine . . . It will be fine . . . I need to sleep."

Rodolphus hesitated, stopping himself from pressing the tired witch for every last detail of her encounter with The Dark Lord. Instead, he forced himself to give a slight nod, watching as she adjusted herself to lay back into the bed, sitting beside her with their daughter and letting her rest her head into his side.

"Rest . . ." Rodolphus murmured, looking down at his daughter as he let her take his finger in her own tiny hand.

* * *

Bellatrix sat back on the settee, little Ayla Lestrange dressed in a frilled white dress as she nestled into her mother's chest. Bella absentmindedly stroked the girls back, staring towards the fireplace as her husband stood in the middle of the room.

"She's changed so much," Rodolphus shook his head, smiling to himself, "it's only been a week."

"I suppose she has . . ." Bellatrix murmured.

"She looks like her mother," Rodolphus mused.

"I suppose so . . ." Bellatrix sighed.

Rodolphus rolled his eyes, walking over to his wife and daughter and stroking the girl's head absentmindedly, "It won't be that bad."

"It's my parents," Bellatrix scoffed, "of course it will be."

"Your sister will be coming over as well," Rodolphus said.

"With Lucius," Bellatrix rolled her eyes.

"Fair point," Rodolphus smirked before leaning forward and kissing his wife's head, "rest for a moment, they won't be here for a little while."

Much to Bellatrix's disappointment, her family appeared sooner than she had hoped. She watched her husband leave the room to greet them, holding her daughter slightly more closely as she waited for the uncomfortable situation to begin. It was her father that entered the room first, his usual disturbing smirk that he always greeted her with on his features, though he said nothing as his wife entered the room behind him.

"Bellatrix," Druella said in greeting, waiting for her daughter to stand before she continued to walk over to her, "so this is . . . what was her name?"

"Ayla," Bellatrix said, forcing herself to bite her tongue as she thought of how differently her mother would react if this was her youngest sister's child, "Ayla Belle Lestrange."

"Hmm . . . Interesting," Druella mused, her eyes glancing over the mewling child.

"Bella!" Narcissa Malfoy smiled as she entered the room, blushing slightly as she realised the enthusiasm of her tone, her husband's hand resting on her shoulder for a moment before she walked over to her sister, "Oh, she's changed so much, and in such a short space of time. May I . . . ?"

"I'm surprised you asked," Bellatrix couldn't help but smirk slightly, as she gently passed her daughter to Narcissa, both witches taking a seat back on the settee, "I'm surprised you didn't just take her the moment you entered the room."

"Oh shush," Narcissa rolled her eyes, happily rocking the little girl in her arms.

"You'll soon have your own little one to look after, dear," Druella spoke casually as she accepted a glass of wine from the house elf, "Soon, I expect."

"Yes . . . Well . . ." Narcissa blushed.

"Give the girl a break, mother," Bellatrix scoffed, "She's barely married."

"She is a . . . beautiful baby girl," Lucius said, clearly wishing to quickly change the conversation.

"Thank you, Lucius," Rodolphus said, "she takes after her mother, clearly."

Bellatrix rolled her eyes at this, though sat back in her seat slightly as she watched her daughter in her sister's arms.

"Shame about her gender," Cygnus mused, "though I'm sure you'll have more, won't you Rodolphus?"

Bellatrix glared at this, going to speak before her husband placed a gentle hand on her own.

"I am happy with a daughter," Rodolphus said simply, "one heir is enough for my house, regardless of the gender. Besides, have you not proven yourself that it does not matter how many times you try, Bella and I could have many more children and they would all turn out to be girls for all we know."

Bellatrix bit her tongue to stop herself laughing, watching her father wrestle with his anger at the man's comments, her mother shuffling uncomfortably in her seat as she decided to finish the rest of her wine. As Rodolphus smiled pleasantly at the older man he could do nothing but make a grunt of acknowledgement before attempting to change the topic. The conversation flowed as comfortably as it could with Cygnus and Druella Black present, the next half an hour consisting of Cygnus or Druella trying to make the occasional jab with Rodolphus guarding his wife's fury by providing adequate short responses. Bellatrix was almost grateful as her little daughter made a small cry of hunger, glad for the excuse to leave the room.

"I'll come with you," Narcissa stood after she had handed her niece back to her sister, "if that's okay?" she gave a small smile of relief as her sister nodded, quickly following her out of the room.

"They're vile," Bellatrix hissed as she rocked her child, walking towards the nursery with her sister.

"They're our parents," Narcissa sighed.

"Not by choice," Bellatrix wrinkled her nose.

"Well, that is how family works, Bella," Narcissa said as they entered the nursery, watching her sister sit in the rocking chair as she closed the door behind them, "you can't choose your family . . ."

"Evidently not," Bellatrix said, adjusting her dress so that she could feed her daughter.

"If we could . . ."

"I'd have Mother and Father gone in an instant," Bellatrix smirked, "well, perhaps not in an instant. They deserve a slow and painful exit."

"Bellatrix," Narcissa shook her head, walking over to Ayla's crib and casually running her hand over her little blanket embroidered with the Lestrange crest.

"I just speak aloud the things that go through your mind," Bellatrix mused, "I can think of a few family members that could justify a slow and painful death . . . ex-members included."

" . . . Have you heard from her at all?" Narcissa barely whispered, not daring to look at her sister.

"No," Bellatrix spat, "thank Merlin."

Narcissa nodded, looking to her sister for a moment before she averted her gaze yet again. Bellatrix narrowed her eyes at the woman, adjusting her hold on her daughter again before she finally spoke.

"But _you_ have . . ." Bellatrix breathed, "haven't you?"

"No," Narcissa shook her head insistently, "she's no sister of mine."

"Glad to hear it . . . but half of that is a lie, isn't it Cissa?" Bellatrix tried to control her anger, reminding herself of the girl in her arms whilst she couldn't help but think that her sister had waited to broach the subject until she was in such a helpless position on purpose.

"I . . ." Narcissa took a deep breath as she turned to look at her sister, "I didn't write back to her."

"She wrote to you?" Bellatrix sneered, "Why? Did ickle Andy want to come crawling back to the family? Finally fed up of her mudblood and her pathetic little life?"

"No . . ." Narcissa said, pulling herself up to stand tall, "she wanted to let me know . . . Well, I think she wanted to tell you too but . . . she's foolish."

"Let you know what?" Bellatrix asked, glancing down at her daughter for a short moment as she willed the girl to hurry so that she could shake the truth out of her sister, "Stop pussyfooting around the issue and come out with it. "

Narcissa looked to her sister for a moment before she shook her head, reaching into the pocket of her robes and pulling out a small letter, handing it to her sister. The woman gave her a look as if she thought she was stupid as she gestured to both of her hands currently holding her daughter and Narcissa rolled her eyes, sure the woman just didn't want to touch the piece of parchment herself. She walked over to the woman, unfolding the parchment carefully and pulling out a small photograph from within. Narcissa took a deep breath before she held out the photograph so that her sister could see. A baby wrapped in pink blankets looked up at her through dark eyes similar to her daughter's own, her hair a tuft of blonde as she gripped tightly on to an unseen woman's finger.

Bellatrix curled her lip, closing her eyes with distaste, "She had her brat?"

" _Look_ ," Narcissa insisted.

Bellatrix let out a sound of distaste, though did not argue with her sister. She looked back to photograph with a frown of confusion, she would have been sure the now dark-haired baby had been blonde the first time she had glanced at the photograph.

"Twins?" Bellatrix raised an eyebrow, sure the photograph must have panned to another child.

"No," Narcissa shook her head, stuffing the photograph back in her pocket and glancing to the parchment in her other hand, "a metamorphmagus . . . It means—"

"I know what it means," Bellatrix spat.

"Nymphadora," Narcissa sighed, "a daughter."

"Yet another family member on the list for a slow and painful death," Bellatrix said airily, stroking her own daughter's hair back from her face.

"She's a baby . . ." Narcissa gasped.

"She won't always be," Bellatrix shrugged, "besides, is it not best to snuff it out before it reaches a greater age? It would save Andromeda having to raise the brat . . . though on the other hand . . ."

"She said she was born a few weeks ago," Narcissa said, eager to sway the conversation from her sister's murderous mind, "though she debated writing to me. She said she thought of writing to you but knew her letter would sooner feed the fire than be read."

"She still has some smarts, I see," Bellatrix laughed.

". . . Her daughter will be at school the same time as Ayla," Narcissa said.

"And Ayla will know better than to associate with such half-blood filth," Bellatrix growled, wincing as her daughter fussed, "You'll be a clever little girl, won't you?" Bellatrix spoke in a softer tone, smiling slightly as her daughter pulled away from her and she brought her up to wind her.

"It is odd . . ." Narcissa breathed, "When we were growing up we always spoke of how our children would be friends."

"Ayla wouldn't dare," Bellatrix narrowed her eyes.

"Of course," Narcissa nodded, shaking her head of her thoughts, "I take it Ayla needs a nap?"

" . . . Yes," Bellatrix said after a moment, "go back downstairs, I'll be down shortly."

Narcissa gave a small nod, eagerly leaving the room to return to the rest of her family. Bellatrix watched her go, hesitating before she walked over to her daughter's crib quietly shushing her. She couldn't help a small smirk that played on her features when she thought of how she wished to end her sister's family, almost curious to see if Ayla would have any impact on the half-blood's misery when they would be in the same year at Hogwarts. Though she knew better to encourage such a thing, she would be sure to ensure her precious daughter stayed as far away from Nymphadora Tonks as possible.


	9. Love

**So, it turns out I have had a pretty stressful time of it the last few months and as such my fanfiction has suffered. But what time is better than a pandemic to get back into it? I have at least one and a half more chapters written already for this and am hoping to go back to regularly updating you all!**

 **So as always please read, enjoy and please do leave a review for this chapter.**

* * *

Little Ayla Lestrange laughed delightedly as she put one foot in front of the other, looking down to her feet and up again a few times before she fell back on her bottom, hitting excitedly at the frilled skirts of her green dress.

"Almost there," Bellatrix smiled, sitting a few feet away from her as she held her arms out for the nearing one-year-old, "come on, Ayla."

Ayla looked up at the sound of her name, though her dark eyes soon lit up as she looked behind her mother towards the door, "Ra'!"

Bellatrix rolled her eyes with a smirk of amusement, watching her daughter go to crawl towards her uncle before she turned to see the man, her husband walking into the room closely behind him.

"Hello to you too," Rabastan Lestrange chuckled.

"What?" Rodolphus raised an eyebrow, leaning down and picking his child up off of the floor "No greeting for your own father?" he rolled his eyes as the girl reached out for her uncle, giving in as he passed her into his arms.

"Well?" Bellatrix cocked her head to the side as she stood to look at the two boys, "How did it go?"

Rodolphus ignored his wife, walking over to one of the chairs in the room and summoning the elf to get him a glass of whiskey. Bellatrix watched her husband expectantly for a moment before she turned and raised an eyebrow at her brother-in-law.

Rab shrugged, adjusting his niece in his arms as she decided to try to play with his hair, "It was fine," Rabastan said, "the same old."

" _The same old_?" Bellatrix repeated.

"How's Ayla been?" Rodolphus asked, taking a sip from the whiskey now in his hand.

"The same old," Bellatrix said mockingly, causing her husband to roll his eyes at her, "she used magic."

"She used magic?" Rodolphus grinned, taking his daughter from his brother and kissing her dark locks much to the girl's amusement, "You clever girl! How?"

"She summoned her doll," Bellatrix couldn't help but smirk as leant against the wall for a moment, "I kept moving it to the other side of the room and out of reach in hopes she'd try to walk for it. She got rather upset until she just summoned the thing."

"Cruel," Rabastan laughed.

"Cruel to be kind," Bellatrix scoffed, looking to her husband and daughter for a moment before she stood up straight again, "How did it go?"

"The sa—" Rabastan bit his lip in amusement as Bellatrix gave him a stern glare, raising his hands up in defence, "Muggles killed, havoc wreaked, essentially it was the same old—in Rod's defence."

"The same old that seems to be but a distant memory for some of us," Bellatrix growled, pausing with a slight frown as she saw her daughter curl into Rodolphus at the sound of her tone.

"I think I'll be going . . ." Rabastan said, waiting for the small nod of his brother before with a sigh he walked from the room.

"Rodolphus—"

"You go on enough little outings, Bellatrix," Rodolphus said simply, putting his daughter on the floor next to her doll as she began to fuss in his arms.

"I go on half the amount you do," Bellatrix hissed, "all I ever seem to do is sit around this merlin forsaken manor and act the _prissy little housewife._ I am not Narcissa!"

"Bellatrix," Rodolphus narrowed his eyes, "I have told you time and time again not to raise your voice in front of Ayla."

"I'll do as I please! She's fine," Bellatrix glared, though her eyes widened in shock for a moment and she hissed in protest as Rodolphus grabbed her arm and dragged her from the room, a small sound of discomfort escaped her as Rodolphus pushed her against a wall.

"Stop it, Bellatrix," Rodolphus hissed, taking in the woman's look of fury before he let out a sigh, his features softening slightly as he loosened his grip on her arm "Why can't you be happy with your daughter? You still go out, anyone would think I keep you locked up here. You still go on missions, you still leave the manor whenever you please. Any lack of missions is between you and The Dark Lord, that is your doing."

"That is _not_ my doing!" Bellatrix yelled as she pulled away from her husband in fury.

"You—"

"Ma'?"

The pair looked towards the doorway, their little girl had clearly heard their voices from within the room and decided she did not want to be alone. She sat in the doorway, her little doll clutched in one hand as she looked to her parents expectantly. Bellatrix closed her eyes for a moment, her emotions torn between her fury and her need to answer her little girl's call for her. She could feel Rod's eyes burning into her as he watched to see what her next move would be.

". . . I'll be back later," Bellatrix declared, ignoring her husband's calls for her as she walked towards the gates of Lestrange Manor.

* * *

Bellatrix took a moment to compose herself within the small, sconce lit, stone-walled corridor. She adjusted her corset slightly and ran her fingers through her dark curls as best she could, silently cursing herself for not giving herself a moment before she ran out of her home to at least make herself more presentable. Just as the thought to return home and come back later began to pass through her mind a small rush of magic that sent a shiver up her spine seeped from the door at the end of the corridor. He knew she was there, he was simply letting her know. She could not keep him waiting. With a deep breath she composed herself, walking straight towards the door with determination and pushed it open. She stopped only when she reached a few steps into the room, bowing her head.

"My Lord," She muttered, her eyes flickering to the man stood by the window of his room staring towards her with a look of amused curiosity.

"Bella . . ." The Dark Lord cocked his head to the side slightly as he considered the woman, "to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I need to talk to you, My Lord," Bellatrix said, the confidence in her voice surprising even herself.

"Oh?" Voldemort raised an eyebrow, "So urgently that you deemed it fit to disturb me in my private chambers rather than awaiting our next gathering?"

"I—" Bellatrix swallowed hard before she raised her head to look her master straight in the eye, "I apologise my lord, but this could not wait."

"I see," Voldemort paused in thought for a moment, walking closer to the witch before stopping mere feet from her, "Well, I'm listening."

"I want to fight, My Lord," Bellatrix blurted out, "I want to go on missions. I want to _serve_ you."

"You want to serve me?" Lord Voldemort scoffed, "I was under the impression you already do, Bellatrix."

"Not as I used to," Bellatrix said firmly, "Y-You said, when Ayla was born, that you would leave me for two weeks then would want me at full capacity. I have not been at full capacity for well over a year. I cannot—I _will not_ , sit idly by whilst Rabastan, Rodolphus—even _Lucius_ go out far more than I do! I am just as good as they are—No, I'm better than them, I—" Bellatrix paused in her rant, her eyes suddenly directed the wand now slightly raised at her master's side, "My Lord . . ."

"The three of them are yet to fail in a promise, Bellatrix . . ." Lord Voldemort spoke calmly and though his wand was now drawn to Bella's shock and an undertone of amusement played in his features.

"Ayla . . . My Lord, Rodolphus—"

"Rodolphus was not the one to make that promise, Bellatrix."

"No . . ." Bellatrix shook her head, looking back into her master's cold eyes "But have I failed a single mission since she was born? Have I failed you once more?"

"Once is enough . . ." Voldemort murmured.

"My Lord," Bellatrix pleaded, dropping to her knees in front of the man, "please, I beg of you. I'm not made to be some childbearing housewife. I was made to serve you."

"You do not . . . love your daughter?" Lord Voldemort mused.

"I—" Bellatrix froze for a moment, knowing what her lord thought of the matter of love, though deep in her heart she knew what the only answer to the question could be; one that her Lord may not want to hear. "I want to serve you . . ." Bellatrix whispered.

It was less than a second before the pain ran through her, her nails attempting to dig into the stone floor, her teeth gritting down until she thought her head might explode. She fell on her side with a thud, a whimper of pain escaping her before the curse was finally lifted.

"You come here begging to serve me," Lord Voldemort sighed, walking closer to the witch as he spoke, "begging to be used in your fullest capacity," he knelt down next to the panting witch, staring into her dark eyes as he brushed some of her wild curls away from her face, "yet you can't answer a simple question."

"I-It doesn't affect—" Bellatrix hissed as he grabbed a fistful of her hair, wincing in the sudden shock of pain before she looked back up into his cold eyes, an eyebrow raised at her in expectation, "I do . . . I do love her."

Bellatrix sniffed as he let go of her hair, though dared not to move as he stayed by her side, "It does not affect my ability to serve, My Lord."

"What if I commanded you to rid yourself of her?" Lord Voldemort asked, "What if I commanded you to kill her?"

Her insides turned, an image of her daughter's innocent face swimming before her in her mind, so sweet and trusting. "I live to serve you, My Lord . . ." Bellatrix breathed, her voice empty, "I swear I will serve you, she will serve you, we will not fail you . . ."

He considered her for a moment, letting his hand trace her pale cheek before he stood, nodding for the woman to stand before him to which she scrambled to quickly obey despite the slightly unsteady sway she gave as the aftereffects of his curse clearly still ran through her. He grabbed her wrist, pulling her painfully close to himself though she showed no fear at their close proximity.

"You belong to me," Lord Voldemort murmured, his free hand trailing up her side as he watched her eyelids flutter, "you do not belong to Rodolphus. You do not belong to your child. You are mine, Bellatrix Black."

Bellatrix nodded, a lump in her throat at the use of her maiden name, "My lord—"

He cut her off as he moved his hand from her side to rest a finger on her full red lips, watching her carefully as she very almost melted into his touch.

"You are mine, you serve only me," Lord Voldemort breathed, his hand lowering to ever so gently rest on her neck, leaning forward so closely that she could feel his breath on her ear, "you must prove yourself . . . I will return you to your full capacity."

"Thank you, My Lord," Bellatrix sighed, resisting the urge to bite down on her lip as she felt his hands wander further, "I will not—"

"You will not fail me," The Dark Lord finished, "Shush, Bella."

* * *

Rodolphus paced the floor of his bedroom, trying to contain his anger at his wife as his eyes glanced to the clock on their mantle every few steps. It was gone midnight. Bellatrix Lestrange had been gone for hours. With no explanation, no suggestion as to how long the witch would be, she had left him to calm their daughter as she cried for her mother. It hadn't taken much to distract the young child, as he comforted her slight tears she was soon distracted at the temptation of her toys, contented as he ensured she was fed her dinner. Though as he had to get the child to sleep, a task that was ordinarily something that would be carried out by her mother, she became fussy again. It was all he could do not to give up and leave the child to cry herself to sleep before he finally ended sat in the rocking chair with the young girl in his arms, sitting with her until he was sure it was safe to move her.

The man paused in his pacing as he felt the disturbance of his wife entering the wards of the manor. He considered his position for a moment, fury running through him before he finally decided to sit upon the ottoman at the end of their bed, resting his hand on his knee as he loosely held his wand in his hand. He raised his eyes towards the door as he heard the click of the handle turning.

"Where have you been?" Rodolphus said sternly, the witch jumping slightly at his words as if she expected him to be soundly asleep at this hour.

"Roddy," Bellatrix sighed, closing the door behind herself and looking to the man, furrowing her brows, "you're not even dressed for bed."

"Where have you been?" Rodolphus repeated, less patience in his voice.

Bellatrix sighed deeply, shaking her head as she walked over to her dresser to remove her make-up and jewellery for the evening. "Nowhere."

"Don't give me that crap," Rodolphus jumped to his feet, ignoring the flinch of his wife at his sudden movements.

"Well, yes," Bellatrix mused, "I have been _somewhere_. . ."

"Where?" Rodolphus asked, though she did not answer. He took a moment to take in her appearance, her hair wilder than usual, the small satisfied smirk on her lips, the lacing of her corset not quite tied as perfectly as it usually was. He stormed over to the woman, grabbing her by the back of the neck and forcing her to meet his gaze in the reflection of the mirror. "Tell me," he growled through gritted teeth.

"Really, Roddy—" Bellatrix gasped as she felt the magic within him crackling in anger beneath his skin, his grip on her becoming rougher as she tried to pull herself away for a moment only to give up and look to him, "are you going to let me stand up? . . . No?"

"I have no time for games," Rodolphus spat, "I have spent the entire evening looking after our daughter, calming her, feeding her, putting her to sleep—"

"Acting as a parent should," Bellatrix interjected, hissing as he pushed her forward as he released his grip on her. She turned in her chair to face him, raising an eyebrow at the man, "you expect me to apologise for you having to look after your own child?"

"Where did you go?" Rodolphus asked again, attempting to contain his fury at the woman's insolence.

"Where do you think I went?" Bellatrix rolled her eyes, leaning back on her dressing table to gain some space between herself and the man without attempting to move from him, "To see my sister? To a shop? For a walk? Take your pick."

"You went to him," Rodolphus said.

"I did," Bellatrix smirked, watching the man for a moment before she rolled her eyes with a pout, "Oh come now Roddy, what upset have you got in me going to see The Dark Lord?"

"You know why I'm angry at you," Rodolphus spat.

"Yes," Bellatrix purred mockingly, "because I left you to act like a real father for a few hours. Poor Roddy."

There was a loud crash as Rodolphus grabbed his wife and threw her to the floor with all of his strength, the echo of the woman's head thudding against the wooden floor still sounding as he pounced on her to stop her moving.

"Come on, Roddy," Bellatrix sighed, adjusting herself under him as he pinned her wrists in place, "you cannot get upset with me for ensuring that I fulfil my duties to the Dark Lord to my fullest capacity."

"It is not your duty to be his whore!" Rodolphus yelled, gripping her more tightly as she did not even flinch at his words, "You are a mother!"

"I am also a Death Eater!" Bellatrix growled.

"Do you not love your daughter?" Rodolphus hissed, "Do you not care?"

"Don't you dare!" Bellatrix struggled beneath him, yelling in fury when she realised it helped her little, "I love her and you know I do!"

"You left her crying so you could go and whore yourself!"

"I left her with her father so that I could go and ensure our future!" Bellatrix screamed, "So that I could fulfil my duty and win back favour with The Dark Lord!"

"Which involves spreading your legs, does it?" Rodolphus snarled.

"It is an honour—Ah!" Bellatrix gasped in pain as the Cruciatus Curse flowed through her veins for the second time that evening, though as she eventually could no longer hold in the scream her husband did not stop.

Bellatrix Lestrange eventually laid in the middle of the floor, barely conscious from his blows and curses. She felt him raise her into his arms after what must have been at least an hour, gently placing her into their marital bed and placing a gentle kiss on her forehead as if nothing had happened, as he had done many times before. He would heal her by the morning.


	10. Power

**So, I wasn't going to update so quickly after the last chapter but I'm now writing chapter 12 and the comments in various places I'm getting for this are just lovely, thank you so much.**

 **I've set up a Facebook group, I'm going to post a few "behind the scenes" stuff, updates on my writing, I've just uploaded the playlist I created for this story there as well and plan to use it a lot more in the future. Just search The Purple Black Fanfiction and the group should come up!**

 **As always, please read, enjoy and please do leave a review!**

* * *

"Ayla," Bellatrix sighed, walking into her daughter's room and moving straight to her wardrobe, "I thought I told you to get dressed."

"I don't want to go," the five-year-old pouted, a look so similar to her mother as she tossed her dark curls out of her face from her seat sat cross-legged on her bed, still proudly in her nightdress.

"You like your Aunt Cissa," Bellatrix flicked through the dresses in the girl's wardrobe, finally selecting a dark blue summers dress, "come on, get up."

"I feel sick," Ayla sighed dramatically, laying back on her bed, "I have to stay here with you."

"You're not sick," Bellatrix said, placing the dress on the end of the girl's bed and looking towards her expectantly, "besides, I'm not going to be here."

"Why?" Ayla asked with curiosity, sitting up for a moment before she seemed to consider something and laid back down on the bed, "I am sick—Stop it!" the girl cried in protest as her mother poked her stomach in jest.

"You seem fine to me," Bellatrix smirked in amusement.

"Why can't I stay with you?" Ayla groaned.

"You can't, Mummy has—"

"Important work to do," Ayla finished with a huff.

"Precisely," Bellatrix nodded.

"I'll come with you," Ayla declared, getting up off her bed and picking up her dress, holding it out to her mother.

"Will you now?" Bellatrix mused, taking the opportunity to get the girl dressed herself.

"Yep," Ayla nodded, smiling as her head popped out of her dress, "Where are we going?"

"To Malfoy Manor," Bellatrix said.

"No—"

"Yes," Bellatrix said, becoming impatient as she looked towards the clock on the girl's bedside table, "come on, Ayla, we're going to be late and I need to go. I haven't got time—"

"For me." Ayla finished with a sniff.

"No . . ." Bellatrix sighed, kneeling down to the girl's height and taking hold of her arms, "I always have time for you."

"You don't," Ayla whimpered, "you go away all the time and leave me all alone."

"I do not leave you alone, Ayla," Bellatrix sighed, stroking the girl's hair as the child reached out and hugged her, "you go with Aunt Cissa if your father isn't here."

"But I want to stay with you," Ayla murmured, burying her face in her mother's hair, "I want to play with you."

"I promise, we can play when I get back," Bella sighed, kissing the girls head and stroking her back, "but—"

Ayla jumped as her mother let out a hiss, her left arm twitching tighter around her for a moment, "Mummy?" Ayla called in confusion, going to move back to look up at her but finding herself stuck in her mother's grip.

"Sorry, sweetheart," Bellatrix winced, lifting up the child and summoning her bag before without warning she turned on the spot to disapparate.

"Bellatrix!" Narcissa cried out in shock, "What gives you the right to apparate straight into my living room?"

"Mummy!" Ayla cried as Bellatrix tried to put her down.

"Ayla, let go!" Bellatrix spoke firmly, pulling the little girl's arms off from around her neck. The young child looked up at her with a hurt look in her wide dark eyes as the woman dropped her bag on the floor, her mother trying to find the words to explain to a five-year-old why she had to leave her. She shook her head as she could feel the burning in her arm again, "I'm sorry. I'll be back, I promise."

Ayla watched as her mother disapparated, not noticing the tears falling down her pale cheeks nor the sound of her Aunt's footsteps carefully walking up behind her as she sat down on the floor.

"Ayla?" Narcissa spoke softly.

"Where did she go . . ." Ayla barely whispered.

"She . . ." Narcissa sighed, walking behind the girl and kneeling down to her level, "she had to go do important things."

". . . . I'm important!" Ayla cried.

"Oh Ayla—" though Ayla didn't give her Aunt a chance to explain, scrambling to her feet and running towards the spare room in Malfoy Manor that had come to be reserved for her.

* * *

It was shortly after Ayla's sixth birthday when she finally convinced her mother to show her magic properly. Of course, she'd seen her mother perform magic in front of her many times before (along with a host of other people) however today was different. Today Bellatrix had promised to _really_ show her magic. It was true that she was still young, however Ayla was a determined little girl and though most pureblood girls were taught the usual proprieties and boring lessons by a Governess, her mother had out right refused the suggestion when her father had brought it up. It was in fact, one of the few times that Ayla had seen her mother get so firm with her father on a topic. Ayla got the impression that her mother didn't like governesses.

"You must be very careful, Ayla," Bellatrix spoke softly as she leant over her daughter, one hand on her shoulder as the other gripped her wand in front of the child pointing towards a small collection of stones she had placed on the table in front of them, "your wand is your weapon."

"Weapon?" Ayla frowned, "Weapons hurt people, I've never seen you hurt people Mum."

Bellatrix couldn't help but smirk at the comment, glad her young daughter could not see her expression as continued, "No darling, you haven't, however you could hurt someone quite easily . . . by accident."

Ayla nodded, "I understand, show me Mum."

Bellatrix smiled back at the girl as she looked up at her, soon nodding back to the table as the little girl regained her attention.

"Reducto!" Bellatrix hissed with a small movement of her wand, sighing in amusement at the little girls gasp of shock as one of the small rocks exploded in front of her.

"Again!" Ayla giggled, clapping her hands.

"One more time, then you can try it for yourself." Bellatrix made sure the girl was concentrating fully on the task at hand before she obliged and sent another small rock exploding into a thousand pieces.

"Thanks!" Ayla turned to look at her mother, holding her hand out for her wand, she frowned as the woman laughed at her.

"No, sweetie," Bellatrix shook her head, walking over to a small unit in the corner of the room, "you cannot have mum's wand."

"But you said!" Ayla yelled, her brows furrowing in an angry expression that Bellatrix could not help but let out a breath of laughter at as she turned to look at her.

"I said you could try it for yourself," Bellatrix said calmly, "not that you could use my wand. You should never give up your wand."

"But you need a wand to—oh," Ayla tilted her head to the side slightly as she looked at a wand she had never seen before that her mother had just pulled from one of the draws of the unit, "Where did you get that?"

"Never mind that," Bellatrix said, walking back over to her daughter.

"But why have you got someone else's wand?" Ayla frowned, "You said you shouldn't give up your wand, _never_ give up your wand you said. So who—?"

"Do you want to learn magic or not?" Bellatrix raised an eyebrow, waiting for the girl to give a huff and nod, "Well then, fewer questions, more practise."

Ayla bit her lip as her mother handed her the wand. She had never held a wand before and could not help but take in every detail of the dark wood in her small hands. The wand was clearly old, with the odd scratch along its length disappearing into a swirled handle slightly lighter than the rest of the wand. Yet again the question of where such a wand had come from entered her mind, though she forced her curiosity to instead focus back to the stones upon the table.

Nearly an hour had passed, with Ayla jabbing at the rocks, having her wand movements, pronunciation and the way she held her wand corrected a thousand times. Ayla grunted in annoyance as she merely managed to dent one of the rocks.

"Patience," Bellatrix mused, stroking the girl's locks and tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear, "you're so almost there. You can do this."

Ayla took a deep breath, nodding and pointing the wand at one of the smaller rocks, "Reducto!"

Bellatrix grinned as the stone split in half, "See, almost there, you just need to keep practising. Now, concentrate and—" Bellatrix let out a small gasp, causing her daughter to immediately turn and look up into her dark eyes to see a look she knew too well.

"Not now," Ayla whined, "you're with me."

"He needs me," Bellatrix stood up, holding one hand out for the wand as she checked her wrist for the time, "no wonder! Ayla he'll be here any minute! We have a meeting. Ayla give me the wand."

"I want to practise," Ayla said, "please Mum."

"Not whilst I'm not here, now come on Ayla," Bellatrix let out a huff of annoyance as she had to pull the wand from the girl's fingers, "come on." Bellatrix spoke as she walked over to the unit she had pulled the wand from, thinking for a moment before she instead placed it on a high shelf far out of her daughter's grip, "You can't touch it when I'm not here, it's dangerous princess."

"I'm fine!" Ayla snapped.

"No," Bellatrix shook her head, getting notably annoyed as she held her hand out for her daughter, "come on, you can't stay in here. Go to the playroom for a while . . ." her look softened for a moment as she saw the upset in her daughters face, "I'll come back after, I promise."

Ayla narrowed her eyes at her mother for a moment, the look almost comical on her small features, before she stormed out of the room ahead of her mother. She could hear her mother leave the room behind her though did not turn back to her on her way to her playroom. She walked into the room, going over to a small collection of dolls and teddy bears and sat before it. As she looked at the toys one by one she couldn't help but think of her parents. Both her mother and father always seemed to have more important things to do than play with her. Even on her most recent birthday, her mother had left to see _her master_. She didn't understand why this man was more important than her. She had brief memories of meeting him once or twice, though only ever in passing as he entered the main dining room after the many other men and women who seemed to come to their home far more frequently than Ayla would have liked. He didn't seem all that special to her.

She had asked her mother what was so special about him once. It was on a rare weekend when both her mother and father had been with her for nearly the entire time, her mother sat cross-legged on the floor in front of her as she amused her with one of her dolls and the aid of some magic. It was as her mother's sleeve slipped to reveal the skull and snake tattoo on her left arm that Ayla reached out, taking her mothers hand and forgetting about the doll dancing in front of her for a moment.

She had asked curiously about the mark, to which Bellatrix initially smiled and explained that it was a connection to her master. She had frowned, confused for a moment as Bella stroked her hair back out of her face with her spare hand. That was when she had looked up at her mother and asked her _What makes him so special,_ it wasn't a kind tone, in truth, she was already annoyed at the man who saw fit to take her parents from her so frequently. Though she immediately noticed the change in her mother's demeanour, clearly biting back her words as Ayla quickly pulled her hand away.

That was when she felt her father's hand on her shoulder and she looked up to see his eyes, kind though cautious as he looked between his daughter and wife. _He's a powerful man,_ he explained, _he . . . he has a task, a task to make sure the world is pure and good and magical just as it should be. Your mother and I help him with that._

Ayla thought for a moment, looking back to her mother who was now staring at the floor in thought, _So he's powerful? He's good at magic?_ She asked in all innocence. _That's why you help him?_

Bellatrix brought her hooded eyes up to look at her daughter, going to say something then catching her husband's eyes, they knew this was not the time to explain their activities to their daughter. _Yes,_ Bellatrix said plainly, _he's very good at magic._

Ayla thought about this moment most times her mother or father left her for their _master_. She wished that she could be just as powerful as him, just as good as magic so that she could prove to her parents that she was just as worthy of their time. It was as she pulled the same doll her mother had played with on that day to herself, giving it a great hug, as the idea suddenly hit her. She could be powerful. She could be good at magic. The little girl knew just where to find a wand, then she could prove to her parents that she was just as special.

"Come on!" The little girl yelled to her doll with a giggle, grasping tightly onto the little china hand as she bounded out of the room and back towards the wands hiding place.

As soon as she entered the room she remembered the obstacle her mother had put before her; the wand was far too high for her to reach. Ayla looked around the room, seeing if there was anything she could pull to climb on. After a minute she noticed the small table, grinning as she set her dolly down on the armchair and ran to pull the table. It took her some time but eventually, she managed to get it near enough the unit for her liking. She heaved herself, grunting in her efforts as she struggled to get a good enough grip to pull her body onto the table. When she finally managed to get on top she stood up, a triumphant grin on her features. That was until she looked up and realised she couldn't see the wand, let alone reach it. She yelled in annoyance, falling to sit on the table as she clenched her fists in her dress. She almost missed the thud of wood hitting the wall opposite as the wand went zooming from the cabinet. Her eyes widened in shock.

"Did I just . . ." Ayla gasped, though soon shook her head and ran for the wand, "Got you! Right . . ." Ayla took a deep breath as she walked back over to the table to arrange the rocks again.

"Right . . ." Ayla pulled herself up to stand tall, as she had seen her mother do many times before, then said simply "Reducto." She frowned as nothing happened this time, then readied herself again.

"Reducto!" She yelled, watching as the rock merely shivered, "Stupid—Reducto! Reducto! REDUCTO!"

With a bang the wand let out a burst of magic, missing the table and hitting the unit in front of it. The little girl cried out as most of the objects on the unit came crashing down, unable to move away fast enough when something hit her head hard. She panted as she looked at the mess she had made, worrying what her mother would think though mostly focused on the searing pain in her head. She lifted her hand, hissing as she touched her head then yelling out as she took her hand away and saw blood. She cried, wondering how badly she had hurt herself.

The six-year-old ran out of the room without a second thought, tears streaming down her pale cheeks as she ran towards the main dining hall of Lestrange Manor. She could hear voices from the hallway, the high commanding tones of a man, and she hesitated slightly though she continued to cry silently. Her parents had previously severely warned her against ever entering the room when they were having one of their meetings unless it was an absolute emergency. She looked down at the small amount of blood on her hand and decided that this was an emergency; if she didn't see her mother or father surely she'd bleed to death. She reached out for the door handle, tears still falling and pushed the door open.

The dining table was gone, instead there stood a large circle of men surrounding somebody within the circle. Just as she tried to see through the dimly lit room she suddenly became aware of the fact that the men had turned to face her, mostly masked figures with hoods pulled up to cast a sinister shadow against the shine of their silver masks. She stepped back on instinct, her heart-stopping for a minute before she saw a familiar face within the circle.

"Ayla?" Rodolphus Lestrange seemed horrified to see his daughter within the room, "What are you—?"

"Daddy," Ayla cried, running up to the man and colliding with him as she hugged him tightly, "I—"

"What are you doing?" Rodolphus asked.

"I—" Ayla hissed as her father reached down and took her shoulders, pulling her away from himself roughly to look down at her, the stern look on his features quickly turned into a concerned frown as he noticed the cut on the girls head.

"Ayla," the girl turned around at the hiss of her mother's voice her eyes quickly widening in fright, "what are you doing?"

Her mother stood in the centre of the circle, her wand drawn in one hand as she quickly tucked away her dagger in its holster as Ayla saw a flash of crimson on the silver blade. The woman looked as if she had run a marathon, with sweat collecting on her forehead and her hair wilder than usual. Ayla followed her mother's wand to see the figure on the floor it was pointing to, suddenly realising the quiet sound of gentle moans of pain she had previously been too distracted to notice. Upon the floor laid what Ayla initially perceived to be a pile of red-stained rags, though upon closer inspection she saw the head of a man poking out behind a tangled mess of hair, one of his hands splayed out on the floor beside him looking seriously hurt. If Ayla thought she herself had lost a lot of blood it was nothing compared to the man.

"Yes," a cold voice sounded out, a man slowly walking forward from behind her mother. The Dark Lord raised an eyebrow at the girl, his mere posture enough to make her instinctively back into her father as she felt his hand take a more comforting grip on her shoulder. "What is your offspring doing, Lestrange? It appears she's been causing a bit of blood loss herself."

"My Lord," Rodolphus began despite the snickers of amusement from his peers, kneeling down behind his daughter as with one swift motion he wrapped an arm around her to pull her to sit on the floor in front of him, "I apologise, she has been warned—"

"How old is your child now?" Voldemort mused, looking to Bellatrix ever so slightly as the woman stood by his side now.

"S-Six, she's six, My Lord." Bellatrix said, "She has been told, I—"

Lord Voldemort raised his hand to silence the woman, not breaking eye contact with the child's dark eyes, a copy of her mother's own, "A six-year-old can speak, Bella. Is that not correct, child?"

Ayla was frozen to the spot, she could hear her heart beating in her chest, trying to take in the scene around her whilst not once losing eye contact with the man. It wasn't until she felt the gentle nudge of her father that she nodded, "Y-Yes," she said as the man raised an eyebrow at her, she heard the small whisper in her ear of her father and repeated his words "Yes, My Lord,"

A small smirk graced the man's lips, giving him a far eerier appearance than previously in the girl's opinion. "So, _Ayla_ , tell me," the man took a step towards the girl, leaving her mother to stand behind him with clear fear poorly disguised on her features, "how is it you came to have blood on your head? As I assume that is why you have decided to interrupt us in this very important meeting."

"I—" Ayla hesitated as she looked to her mother, the woman neutralizing her expression as her master turned to look at her for a moment before his gaze returned to the young girl, "Mum was teaching me spells . . . sh-she told me not to touch it while she was busy but—" the girl sniffed, blinking back renewed tears "b-but I wanted to learn, I wanted to do magic, s-so I went into the room . . ."

"Your mother was careless and did not ward against your curiosity?" Lord Voldemort asked.

"It was out of her reach, My Lord," Bellatrix insisted, "I told her not to."

"I-I'm sorry," Ayla cried, "I summoned it. Then I tried to use the spell but-but I hit the things and it hit my head. I hurt myself. I-I'm sorry, I-I was just trying to be powerful . . ."

"A summoning charm and other spell work?" The Dark Lord raised his eyebrow, "At the age of six?"

"I-I didn't teach her a summoning charm, My lord," Bellatrix spoke, trying her hardest to force herself to remain on the spot rather than go to her daughter.

"Hmmm . . ." Lord Voldemort stared at the girl for a few moments, waiting for her to finish her crying before he slowly approached her. She was brave this time, looking straight at him as she forced herself not to cry further, this earned another smirk from the man, "Well, Ayla Lestrange, you have clearly been a naughty child . . . though the Dark Lord is merciful. You can remain, your parents will heal you when they are done." He took one last glance at the girl before he turned to Bellatrix with a swish of his robes. "Resume Bella,"

"My Lord—" Bellatrix breathed.

"I said, _resume_." Lord Voldemort repeated.

Ayla watched her mother staring at her master, unsure of what to do or how to act until she felt the tug of her father behind her. He rose to his feet, bringing the girl to stand before him and resting both of his hands on her shoulders.

As he slowly rose to his feet he whispered to the girl "Don't make a sound, not a word." And she barely gave the smallest of nods as her mother's gaze flickered to her for a moment before she returned to the man before him.

Bellatrix took a deep breath before she twisted her wand and screamed "Crucio!"

The room instantly filled with the agonised screams of the man as he writhed on the floor.

"I know nothing!" the man cried out, hitting out at the marble flooring with such force that Ayla was sure she witnessed his arm break though he seemed to not notice, "I've told you everything!"

"Liar," Bellatrix hissed, and as she twisted her wand the man let out another yell of agony. The man writhed and screamed for what felt like hours to the girl, though it was surely barely minutes before the man yelled out again.

"F-Fidelius!" the man screamed, causing the woman's spell to cease immediately.

"Fidelius?" Bellatrix asked, "That's how they're hiding it? Who is the secret keeper?"

"N-N-" the man coughed horrifically, taking his breath after a few moments and crying out "no idea—Please . . . Stop . . ."

". . . Well," Lord Voldemort spoke, walking up to stand behind Bellatrix once again, "you heard him, Bella, make it stop."

Bellatrix hesitated for a moment, her eyes flickering to her daughter for the briefest of moments before she forced herself to carry out the task at hand. She tightened her grip on her wand, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

" _Now, Bellatrix,_ " Lord Voldemort hissed.

" _Avada Kedavra_!"

A green light filled the room and the man suddenly went limp. Ayla immediately knew what had happened, though what she never quite understood was how she had managed to remain silent even as her father's grip tightened on her in warning. The room remained silent for what seemed like an age before Lord Voldemort spoke again.

"I believe we are finished here . . ." He looked back at the small girl as his servants bowed their heads slightly, "next time, Ayla, perhaps it is best to listen to what your parents tell you." And with that, he left the room without another word.

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed! Please do leave a review if you have a moment and do go check out the Facebook group!**

 **The Purple Black**


	11. Death

**Happy Thursday everyone! Or as I've ended up calling it, happy "clapday" as Thursday is the day we all leave our homes to clap for five minutes and as I am currently furloughed I have lost all other sense of what day it is unless I'm clapping outside my front door haha I hope you're all keeping safe and hopefully this will provide you with some entertainment and distraction for a moment. I currently have up to chapter 15 written, so I think I will go back to the old way I used to update things of updating either once I have a few reviews or if not once a week. For those of you that haven't already looked into it please go check out my Facebook group, simply search The Purple Black on Facebook, I'm going to be posting previews and the likes there, there is already currently a playlist for this story on there too.**

 **Anyway, as always, please do read, enjoy and please do leave a review with your thoughts!**

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The crowd around them began to move, though Ayla barely noticed as she still focused her gaze on the body on their dining hall floor.

"Rabastan!" Bellatrix hissed as she ran towards her daughter, "Get rid of it!"

"Why me?" he replied, though as Bellatrix shot him a deathly glare he shook his head, grabbing the man closest to him.

"Get off, Lestrange!" He snapped.

"Help me," he growled in reply.

"No," Lucius scoffed, "I am not—"

"Help me so those two can help our niece, Malfoy," Rabastan growled, glaring at the man more forcefully before with a roll of his eyes the men walked towards the body in the room. They were the last of the crowd to leave the room as Bellatrix dropped to her knees in front of her daughter.

"What were you thinking!?" Bellatrix snapped, "You were told not to! You were told to stay away!"

Ayla burst into tears as if her frozen body had suddenly been brought back to life again, "I-I-I'm sorry," Ayla cried, turning into her father as he bent down and took her into his arms.

The man shot a glare at his wife before he lifted the girl from the floor, "Come on, Ayla, let's see to that head of yours."

"I'll fix it," Bellatrix said, holding her arms out for the girl.

Ayla shook her head, her arms wrapping tightly around her father's neck as she cringed against him, "I'm sorry . . ."

The man hesitated for a moment before he stroked the girls back, "come on, Ayla. I'll take a look at it for you."

Ayla didn't say a word as she was carried up to her room by her father, clinging onto him desperately until he eventually sat her down on the edge of her bed and she let go of him with a gentle prompt from the man. Rodolphus smiled sadly at her for a moment before with a sigh he drew his wand.

"W-What—?" Ayla began.

"We'll explain it when you're older, Ayla," Rodolphus said, raising his wand to the girls head as he began to clear the dried blood from her face and hair.

"But, why did Mum . . .?" Ayla persisted, "Is he _dead_?"

Rodolphus cringed slightly at the girl's words, though continued to heal her in silence.

"Daddy . . ." Ayla murmured, "Dad . . ."

After a few moments the man pocketed his wand, stroking the girl's hair out of her face and kissing her forehead, "There. Good as new."

"Dad what happened?" Ayla persisted, "Please tell me."

"You shouldn't have seen that, Ayla," Rodolphus sighed, "You were told not to enter that room when—"

"I know, I'm sorry," the girl whined "but why did Mum—?"

"Ayla," Rodolphus said firmly, "there are questions you are too young to know the answer to. I told you, I will explain it when you are older. Now, it's getting late, change into your night clothes and then you may play with your dolls in here for a while longer before you go to sleep."

"I—" Ayla began, though a warning look from her father caused her to nod, "Yes father . . ." she sighed as he leant down and kissed her head again.

"I'll see you tomorrow, beautiful." Rodolphus said, then left the room without further notice.

Ayla stared at the door for a short while, struggling to contemplate all of the questions in her mind before she eventually shook her head as if to empty her mind of the thoughts and walked over to her dresser in order to find a night dress.

At least an hour had passed when the girl heard the click of her door knob turning, causing her to sit up on the edge of her bed as she clutched her doll closer to herself. Fear filled her momentarily, though as she saw the pained expression on her mothers face she could not help but relax slightly.

"Ayla," Bellatrix breathed, as if asking permission to enter the room, she waited for a moment until with a small nod of her daughter she entered and closed the door behind her.

"I'm sorry Mum," Ayla sniffed, "I—"

"Shhh," Bella shook her head, cautiously approaching the girls bed and sitting on the edge away from the girl, "that doesn't matter now. It's done . . ."

"I didn't mean to . . ." Ayla murmured, "I hurt myself and I panicked."

"I know," Bellatrix looked to the girl, the pair of them locking their gaze for a moment before the young girl climbed up her bed to sit against her pillows. Bellatrix hesitated before she stood up and went to sit next to the girl, a flood of relief washing over her as she curled into her side.

"Mum?" Ayla mumbled, running her finger across the intricate swirls on her mothers dress absentmindedly.

"Hmm?" Bellatrix stroked the girls hair, watching her small fingers as she dreaded what the girl was to ask her.

"Why—" Ayla stopped for a moment before she carried on with her exploration of the pattern on her mothers dress "What happened?"

". . . You know what happened, Ayla," Bellatrix breathed.

". . . . But . . . Why?" Ayla adjusted herself, looking up at her mother slightly even though she did not return her gaze this time, instead leaving her focus upon her fingers.

"The world is full of bad people, Ayla," Bella stated "Full of filth . . ."

"But you're not bad," Ayla protested, "you're a good mum."

Bella couldn't help but let out a breath of laughter, "Yes, Ayla. Though Mummy helps get rid of the bad people, to remove the filth from this world."

"Like Mudbloods?" Ayla asked curiously, "and Muggles? Was he a muggle?"

"Not a muggle," Bella shook her head, finally looking down at her daughter and stroking her curled dark locks "he was working against Mummy and her friends, trying to take us away from you. So we had to get rid of him. Sometimes we must rid the world of bad people. This is a good thing, I promise."

"People want to take you away?" Ayla asked, panic-stricken yet again.

"It won't happen," Bella said firmly, "I won't allow it. You don't need to worry."

"Promise?" Ayla asked.

"I . . ." Bella smiled slightly, kissing the girls head, "I promise."

Ayla let out a breath of relief, curling back into her mother's arms as the woman stroked her hair. "Good . . ." Ayla yawned, "I'm glad you got rid of the bad man, Mummy."

"Good . . ." Bellatrix breathed, watching the girl intently in all of her innocence, the small child soon slowly drifting off to sleep within her arms.

* * *

Bellatrix watched her now six-year-old daughter sat across from her, innocently eating her morning breakfast as if nothing was wrong with the world. Bellatrix missed that innocence, that feeling of nothing being wrong with the world and everything being relatively normal. It took her a few moments to realise that she had never had the innocent childhood that her daughter was so lucky to receive. She let out a scoff of laughter at the realisation, forcing a smile as her daughter looked up at her curiously. The little girl smiled back, taking a sip of her orange juice before she looked to her mother again.

"Where's father?" Ayla asked.

"He had to leave early," Bellatrix said simply, "he has a meeting at the Ministry with your uncle."

It was a half lie, though the girl seemed content at this answer as she carried on eating her scrambled eggs. Rodolphus was with Lucius, and though she was sure they would end up at the ministry at one point today she was sure he wasn't there yet.

"Can we go shopping today, Mum?" Ayla asked, "To Diagon Alley?"

"I took you there last week, Ayla," Bellatrix said.

"So?" Ayla shrugged, "We could always go shopping again. I'm sure I need a new dress."

"Yes," Bellatrix rolled her eyes, "but you don't want to go dress shopping. You hate that just as much as I do. You want to go to Honeydukes and clear their stock of Sugar Quills again."

"Well," Ayla sighed dramatically, "I suppose we could go to Honeydukes on the way to dress shopping . . . or to visit Knockturn Alley again?"

"You hate Knockturn—" Bellatrix froze as she felt a disturbance in her wards, concentrating for a split second before she stopped herself just in time to not swear in front of her daughter, "Finish your breakfast," Bellatrix said as she stood up.

"You haven't finished your breakfast," Ayla frowned.

"I have," Bellatrix said, walking towards the door, "stay in here, I'll be back in a minute."

"But—"

"Ayla, listen to what I tell you and stay in here," Bellatrix spoke a little harshly unintentionally, instantly regretting it as she saw the hurt in her daughters face, "Finish your breakfast and go straight to your room . . . put your shoes on and I'll be up soon to take you to Honeydukes."

"Okay!" Ayla grinned, returning to quickly eat her breakfast as her mother left the room.

Bellatrix straightened herself as she walked the halls of Lestrange Manor, preparing herself for the meeting she knew more than anything she did not want to have. They knew something was wrong, that was the only explanation as to why the pair of them would turn up at Lestrange Manor. She tried to prepare herself for what she would say as the bell rang out in the manor, announcing their presence. She shooed the house-elf away as she reached the main entrance, taking a deep breath before she eventually opened the front door.

"Father, Aunt Walburga," Bellatrix said in a sickly sweet tone, "to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"We're not here to play games, Bellatrix," Cygnus snapped as he walked through the threshold, going straight past his eldest daughter.

"Yes, come in," Bellatrix said sarcastically, "please,"

She looked to the pair, her father with his usual stern gaze though her Aunt looked different. Her usual strong demeanour was cracking, her hair not quite as picture-perfect as it usually was, her make up not perfectly in place, the woman looked like she had barely slept in days.

"Let's go into the drawing-room, shall we?" Bellatrix asked, not waiting for their reply as she walked on ahead.

They did not immediately follow her, though soon realised they had no choice but to. Bellatrix waited at the open door, letting the pair go inside before she closed the door behind her and smiled sweetly at the pair.

"How may I be of assistance?" Bellatrix asked.

"Drop the act," Cygnus growled, "you know why we're here."

"Where is he, Bellatrix?" Walburga snapped.

"Who?" Bella raised an eyebrow, "Rodolphus? He's out at the moment."

"Where is _Regulus_?" Walburga asked, her voice cracking slightly at the question despite her attempts to retain her hard exterior.

Bellatrix couldn't keep her false smile of naivety on her features, she looked to her father for a moment before she looked back to her Aunt. "Why are you asking me?"

"He hasn't been home for days," Walburga said, "I know he's likely on The Dark Lords orders—"

"Then you should know that it is not unusual for him to be out for days," Bellatrix said simply, "as well as the fact that I am very unlikely to disclose any business of The Dark Lord with yourselves."

"My elf is hysterical!" Walburga screeched, clearly losing her patience with the woman.

"Excuse me?" Bellatrix raised an eyebrow.

"Kreacher disappeared for perhaps a day or two," Cygnus rolled his eyes, "around the same time as Regulus. Now he's refusing to tell Walburga anything about Regulus and instead wanders around the house muttering nonsense, screeching apologies as he disappears for hours on end."

"Well, perhaps it is time to add his head to the collection," Bellatrix suggested, being met with a tear-filled glare from her Aunt.

"Mum?"

Bellatrix spun around to see her daughter at the door of the drawing-room, her eyes widening for a moment before she stormed back across the room to the girl, "Ayla I told you to go to your room when you'd finished breakfast," Bellatrix hissed, wincing as the girl jumped slightly at her tone.

"I-I heard shouting," Ayla murmured, "s-sorry . . . What's Grandfather and Aunt Walburga doing here?"

"Nothing," Bellatrix said, "they'll be leaving shortly. Go, go on up to your room or I'll rethink our outing later."

Ayla looked up at her mother for a moment, taking in the stern look on her features before with a small nod she ran out of the room.

"She's just as obedient as you were," Cygnus remarked, "or should I say _are_ , as you're still as disobedient."

"I am not your property!" Bellatrix snapped.

"Bellatrix," Walburga stepped in front of Cygnus, swallowing hard as she clearly struggled to keep her emotions under control, "he is my _son_. . . not to mention the heir of our house. If it were Ayla . . . have some sympathy for once in your life."

Bellatrix considered the woman for a moment, locking eyes with her as she considered her words. She was right, if it was Ayla she would do anything to find her. Though she held no sympathy for the woman herself, who had always been a shrewd old bat in the same league as her father, she knew they would stop at nothing to get the information they needed and as much as she could easily fight them . . . it wasn't worth it.

"I don't know," Bellatrix eventually breathed.

"Of course you know!" Cygnus snapped, "I told you she wouldn't help, Walburga, just as insolent as—"

"I mean I don't know," Bellatrix growled, glaring at the man, "he's gone . . . we can't trace him."

"So he's gone abroad?" Walburga asked, "Far away somewhere? Why?"

"It's not a distance thing," Bellatrix sighed, "I've once known him to trace someone all the way in America."

"What are you saying?" Cygnus demanded, clearly losing patience by the minute.

"You know what I am saying," Bellatrix said, though the silence hung heavy in the air and as her father looked from Walburga to her she couldn't help but realise she would have to spell it out for them to get them to leave, "the only time he's been known to be unable to trace someone is once they—"

" _He's not dead_ ," Cygnus scoffed, "that's ridiculous."

"Hardly," Bellatrix practically whispered, "it's hardly ridiculous that a Death Eater die every now and then . . . I don't know anything else. I suggest you leave as Rodolphus has just entered the wards of the home and I doubt he'll take kindly to finding you both in here."

"You know more," Cygnus shook his head, "tell us."

"I don't!" Bellatrix hissed, "Do you not think if I knew more I would say? If I knew where his body was," Walburga audibly whimpered at the mention of a body, "that I wouldn't return it to be buried in the family plot? Now leave!"

"You—"

"Enough," Walburga whimpered, "brother enough . . ."

Cygnus went to say something further, though his sister was uninterested in hearing anymore. She walked straight from the room, tears clearly running freely down her face now even as she tried to fake composure in front of her niece. Bellatrix looked to her father, the pair locking eyes for a few moments before the man looked behind her. She didn't take her eyes off of him, and neither of them spoke a word as Cygnus eventually decided to follow his sister in a huff of annoyance. The room was silent, Bellatrix listening to their footsteps leaving the manor and the slam of the front doors behind her father. She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding as she felt their presence leave the wards of her home.

"Ma Belle?" the soft voice of her husband called out from behind her, she knew he had been standing there, knew that that was what her father had looked to before deciding to leave her alone, though he had remained utterly silent as she remained frozen to her spot. She listened to the soft footsteps of the man carefully approaching her, as if cautious to scare her out of her current state. As she felt the warm hand of her husband rest gently on her shoulder she couldn't help but relax slightly. She closed her eyes, reaching up a hand and resting it upon her husbands.

"He was eighteen, Rod," Bellatrix whispered, leaning back into the man as he took a step towards her, soon enveloping her in his arms.

"I know . . ." Rodolphus murmured into the woman's hair, "too young . . ."

"It's a worthy cause," Bellatrix said, her voice sounding forced as she strained to keep the emotion from her tone.

"It is . . ." Rodolphus agreed.

"Though I was fond of him . . ." Bellatrix admitted, "to an extent . . ."

"I know . . ."

"He was an annoying little shit when he wanted to be," Bellatrix scoffed, "difficult to train . . ."

"Very . . ."

". . . I'm okay," Bellatrix breathed.

"I know," Rodolphus murmured, kissing her wild locks.

Bellatrix took a breath to compose herself, turning on the spot to meet her husband's gaze. The man looked down at her curiously, the hand on her shoulder rising to stroke a stray strand of hair from her pale face. Neither of them spoke for some time, resting in each other's arms as they both knew the silent questions running around their minds. What would happen to Ayla if that was them? Bellatrix would have died for the cause gladly, considered it an honour even. Though what happened when Ayla became of age. How long would their innocent young daughter last in this world? Bellatrix Lestrange resolved to work as hard as she could, train her as hard as she could, to fight herself as hard as she could, all to ensure that Ayla Lestrange would never succumb to the same fate as poor Regulus Black.


	12. Mother

**Wow. Thank you so much for all of your lovely comments and reviews on the previous chapter! I'm so glad you guys are enjoying this story it really means a lot. If there's anything extra you want to see or to find things such as the playlist for this story please do go on over to Facebook as I have started a Facebook group (just search The Purple Black Fanfiction). As I've had so many lovely comments from you all I've decided to upload this chapter a little early and as I've got a few chapters written up already I'll go with the same thing as last time.**

 **As always please read, enjoy and please do leave a review! (Also stay safe and all that shiz :) )**

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It was the winter of 1980 and it was the dead of night as little Ayla Lestrange laid in her bed. The wind was howling outside of her window, causing one of the nearby trees to cast a shadow of what looked like crooked fingers reaching out across her bedroom floor. The girl would have been fast asleep by now, she usually was, though as the wind cried out to her she could not help but instead laid in bed hypnotised by the movement within the grounds of Lestrange Manor. Ayla was not scared of the noise, if anything she was more than used to it and for a seven-year-old was remarkably brave. She took a deep breath as she finally looked away from the window, she decided that rather than go straight to sleep she would get a glass of water. It was true, she could have summoned the elf for this simple task, though the young girl much preferred the idea of walking around the manor in the middle of the night.

She swung her legs over the side of her bed as she threw her duvet off of herself, jumping down and tiptoeing across to her bedroom door. She opened the door with caution, she had a distinct feeling her parents would not approve of her wish to fetch her own drink in the middle of the night. As soon as she confirmed that the darkened hallway was clear she quietly shut the door behind her, making her way to the staircase on her journey to the kitchen. As she snuck her way down the last of the corridors on the way to the kitchen Ayla quickly found herself freezing on the spot. The door to the drawing-room was slightly ajar, the light of the nights fire seeping into the hallway and the voice of a pair speaking. She took a deep breath, collecting her nerves as she cautiously stepped closer towards the room, ensuring to keep her back against the wall until she was right by the door.

"Bella . . ." a man's voice sounded, causing the little girl to widen her eyes in shock, she quickly yet cautiously poked her head out ever so slightly, so that she could just see the back of the man stood talking to her mother as she sat by the fire.

"My Lord," Bellatrix purred, "I swear you can trust me, I will protect it with my life."

"Your vault is well protected," Voldemort stated, walking closer to the fire, "you can store it there I'm sure . . . tell no-one that it was I who asked you to protect it, only your husband."

"Yes, My Lord," Bellatrix agreed, looking down at the small cup in her hand as if it was the most valuable item in the world, "I will not tell another soul."

"I'm sure you won't," Lord Voldemort said, a cold smile appearing on his lips as he looked to the older woman, "though will your daughter?"

"My Lord?"

Ayla's heart stopped, pulling herself away from the door she ran back to her room as quickly as she could. He knew she was there, he had to. All thoughts of her mission for her drink were gone as she bounded through the door of her bedroom. She quickly dove under the covers, pulling them up over her head and squeezing her eyes shut as she could still hear her own heart beating within her chest. It seemed like hours had passed, and little Ayla Lestrange was still laid within her bed terrified that she had been seen. She let out an audible whimper as she heard the sound of heels clicking on the hardwood floor on the way down to her bedroom and quickly decided to feign sleep.

Bellatrix gently opened the door to her daughter's room, her eyes falling to the small mound on her daughter's bed. She let out an audible sigh, unknowingly sending a shiver down the girls back as she closed the door behind her and slowly walked over to the girl. As Ayla felt the weight of her mother sitting down on her bed she could barely breathe, forcing herself to pretend to sleep even as she felt her duvet lift away from her face.

"Ayla . . ." Bella breathed, reaching out and stroking the girl's hair from her face, "Ayla I know you're pretending . . . I played that game too many times myself as a child . . ."

"No . . ." Ayla murmured, kicking herself instantly as she realised she had given the game away, she slowly opened her eyes and looked up at her mother, "I'm sorry, I—"

"You shouldn't go wandering around the manor at night, Ayla," Bellatrix said, the calm tone in her voice surprising her daughter.

"I'm sorry . . ." Ayla said, "I didn't mean to . . . I just . . . I saw you and—"

"And you're a curious little girl," Bellatrix nodded, "just as I was as a girl. Getting into mischief . . ."

"Mum, I didn't mean to," Ayla persisted, "I was going to get water. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Bella said, sitting herself against the girls pillows and opening her arm for her daughter. Ayla hesitated slightly before she curled into her mother's side, closing her eyes as she stroked her hair. "It won't happen again, will it?"

"No, Mum," Ayla said, hugging her mother, "I'm sorry."

"Shh," Bella whispered, "go to sleep."

Bellatrix sat on her daughter's bed for some time, watching her daughter's pale innocent features closely until her breathing deepened and she was sure she was asleep. She slipped her hand down to her waist, biting her lip as she drew her wand. She hated using magic on her daughter, though this was for the best, she couldn't know, her master would not allow it. She stayed otherwise perfectly still as she slowly raised her wand to her daughter's temple.

". . . _Obliviate_ ," Bellatrix barely breathed, concentrating on her spell to ensure that the girl would not remember the night's events. She winced as her daughter groaned slightly once the spell was complete, though was relieved that she remained asleep. Bellatrix pulled herself away from the child, adjusting her duvet to cover her and kissing her head as if nothing had happened and she was merely checking on the girl. As soon as she left the room she turned, placing wards on the room that she had not used since the girl was a toddler to ensure that she knew when her daughter had left the room. She rubbed her temple as she tried to gather her thoughts and when she eventually entered her own bedroom all emotion was cleared from her features.

"Well?" Rodolphus said, standing up from his seat at the end of their bed, "What did she say?"

"She's sorry," Bellatrix murmured, walking over to her dresser and beginning to remove her make-up and jewellery.

"She can't do that again," Rodolphus shook his head, "it's not safe. I dread to think what the Dark Lord would have said if she hadn't run off, I mean look at what happened the last time she interrupted him!"

"I know, Rodolphus," Bellatrix said, continuing with her routine.

"Bellatrix!" Rodolphus snapped.

The woman sighed, removing the last of her make up as she slowly turned and raised an eyebrow at her husband, "Yes?"

"Take this seriously," Rodolphus said, "anyone would think you didn't care about Ayla!"

"Don't you dare!" Bellatrix yelled, jumping to her feet and storming to her husband, "Don't you dare say that!"

Rodolphus looked down at his wife, looking to her wand in her hand for a moment before he shook his head, "What did you say to her?"

Bellatrix looked to her husband for a few moments, anger still clear on her features before she turned to her dresser to pull out a nightdress, pocketing her wand.

"I told her I was just as mischievous and curious as she is as a child," Bellatrix said, pulling a nightdress from the draw and loosening her corset.

"True," Rodolphus scoffed, "though that doesn't help us right now. She needs to know not to speak of tonight."

"She won't," Bellatrix shrugged off her dress, kicking it away from her as it hit the floor and she pulled her nightdress over her head.

"She's seven," Rodolphus rolled his eyes, "how can we trust she won't say something by mistake?"

"She won't," Bellatrix said again, turning back to look at her husband, "she can't."

"What do you mean—" Rodolphus Lestrange changed his demeanour instantly, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at his wife, "What did you do to her?"

"Merlin, Rod. You make it sound like I cursed the girl," Bellatrix walked over to her bed, hissing as her husband grabbed her arm.

"What did you do?" Rodolphus repeated himself, Bellatrix raising an eyebrow and looking down to his hand on her arm, after a moment he let go though he did not step back from his close proximity to his wife.

"I put a memory charm on her," Bellatrix shrugged, "she doesn't remember seeing us."

"You what!?" Rodolphus gawked at his wife, "She is a little girl!"

"Yes," Bellatrix nodded, sitting down on the bed, "and children are a lot easier to do such spells on."

"That is not the point," he growled, "I can't believe you—"

"You can't believe I what, Roddy?" Bellatrix tilted her head to the side slightly as she looked up at the man, "Can't believe I protected our daughter? Can't believe I didn't just go for the full-on torture tactics? Perhaps a threat would have worked better. Shall I try again?" sarcasm dripped from her every tone as her husband glared down at her, though she continued, "She is safe. A memory charm here and there never hurt anyone, so long as it is performed correctly—which I am more than capable of doing. You were the only one I could speak of that to, she is too young to know, too young to be trusted. What is to stop her innocently mentioning that?"

"She wouldn't," Rodolphus shook his head.

"And what if she did? We can't guarantee it, Rodolphus," Bellatrix spat, "What if she said something, something that was a secret to The Dark Lord. What does the Dark Lord do to those who betray his secrets? I wasn't about to risk that, I wasn't about to risk our daughter's _life_! I have been through too much for her, I care too much for her to lose her because she opened her mouth at the wrong moment!"

Rodolphus stared down at his wife, his glare fading as he noticed the passionate tears in his wife's eyes, disguised by her mask of anger directed towards him. He let out a breath, nodding slightly as he sat next to the woman, placing his hand on her knee.

"You're right," Rodolphus said, "a memory charm is better than risking her . . ."

Bellatrix swatted her tears away, calming herself for a few moments before she eventually laid her head on her husband's shoulder, closing her eyes.

"He said she was getting in the way . . ." Bellatrix breathed, "she can't get in the way . . . I had to . . . I'll do anything to protect her, Rod . . ."

"I know . . ." Rodolphus quietly agreed, kissing his wife's head and wrapping an arm around her, "whatever it takes . . ."

* * *

"Does he still not speak?" Ayla huffed from her space on the floor, watching her younger cousin toddling over to his toy train as he abandoned the bear given to him by his mother.

"He's only just one, Ayla," Narcissa said, "He's still learning."

"When did I talk, Mum?" Ayla looked up at Bellatrix, the woman smirking as she put her tea cup down on the saucer floating beside her.

"You were saying a few words by your first birthday," Bellatrix shrugged.

"Has Draco?" Ayla asked Narcissa.

"Well different children learn at different speeds," Narcissa insisted, her face becoming slightly flushed, "Anyway, Bella, we did miss you at his party."

"I'm sure you didn't," Bella laughed.

"There was a party?" Ayla frowned, rolling her eyes as her mother gave her her usual warning look for her nosiness and turning to her younger cousin to attempt to entertain him with his toys.

"Yes, well," Bellatrix shrugged, "I came the day before, I still gave my nephew presents, I wished him Happy Birthday and you didn't have to put up with the strained false niceties of me dealing with father and the rest of the family."

"Really," Narcissa rolled her eyes.

"I was busy," Bellatrix said in a way that clearly stated that there was no more room for questions on the matter.

"Right . . ." Narcissa took a sip of her tea, looking down to the two children for a moment before she spoke again, "Ayla why don't you go into the gardens with Draco?"

"Alone with a baby?" Ayla raised an eyebrow, though as she looked out of the window she had to admit that being outside was a far more appealing option than listening to her Aunt and mother drone on for another hour, "sure."

Narcissa shook her head as Ayla went to take Draco's hand, clicking her fingers as with a pop a small house elf appeared in the room, "Dobby, supervise Draco and Ayla in the garden."

"I don't need a baby sitter," Ayla huffed, "come on Draco."

Bellatrix couldn't help but let out a huff of amusement as Ayla glared at the elf following her from the room, though her gaze quickly turned back to her sister as the door shut nearly immediately after they had left.

"What's going on, Bella," Narcissa asked her sister.

"We're drinking tea," Bellatrix hummed, taking her cup again as she took a sip as if to prove a point.

Narcissa tutted, "You know what I mean!"

"You surely wouldn't mean asking about matters you shouldn't, sister dear," Bellatrix raised an eyebrow at the woman as she set her cup down again.

"Please," Narcissa pleaded, "I'm worried. Lucius is gone at all hours of the day, I swear you are dropping Ayla here more and more frequently—which is fine, I love my niece, but I need to know what's going on. I'm scared for Lucius."

"Lucius is a big boy," Bellatrix scoffed, "he can look after himself."

"He told me something's happening," Narcissa said, "he won't tell me what but it's clear to see from the prophet alone that things are getting more and more serious. There's a killing every day I swear it."

"Lucius shouldn't have told you anything," Bellatrix shook her head.

"I'm scared," Narcissa said, "Bella I'm scared for my son. You're a mother, you can understand the fear for your child's safety, what would you do to know if you were in my position?"

Bellatrix narrowed her eyes at her sister for a few moments before she rolled her eyes, "It's nothing to worry about, sister. The Dark Lord has a plan, soon he will complete his task and the world will be as it should; with the scum at the bottom and us on top. You should be _excited_ Cissa!"

"I—" Narcissa took a breath, emptying her cup and placing her hands in her skirts, "I just want my family safe . . . you included."

"We'll be fine," Bellatrix laughed, "I—" she stopped for a moment, her eyes flickering down to the sleeve of her dress before she stood to her feet, "I have to go. I'll pick up Ayla later, Cissa."

"Bella!" Narcissa protested as her sister went to walk from the room, "You need to stop just leaving her here, it isn't fair! What will I tell her?"

"She understands," Bellatrix hissed, " _I have to go_."

Narcissa went to protest again, though before she could say her first word her sister had turned on the spot and disapparated right in front of her.

"Rude," Narcissa huffed, collecting herself before with a deep sigh she walked out into the gardens.

She saw the two children playing, Draco laughing as his elder cousin made the most absurd faces sitting on the grass in front of him. Narcissa couldn't help but let out a small amount of laughter at this, though as her niece looked up she immediately stopped. Ayla looked to her Aunt, then behind her, to her sides, then her grin faltered as she realised what had happened. Narcissa gave the girl a sad smile, the two looking at each other for a moment until Draco decided he was no longer happy with Ayla's attention being misplaced and quickly stood up to block the girls view. Narcissa tried not to see the sadness behind the girl's eyes as she continued to play with the boy. Though Narcissa would never say it out loud, she sometimes thought her niece would be better off without her parents.

* * *

"Ayla you should go to sleep," Narcissa sighed, looking to her niece for a moment before she continued her usual staring contest with the fire.

"You're not going to sleep," Ayla shrugged.

"You are eight, I am—" Narcissa paused for a moment, "older than you."

"But," Ayla stifled a yawn, drawing her feet up to herself on the armchair, "I'm not tired."

"You're not quite as skilled as your mother with your fibs yet, Ayla," Narcissa scoffed.

"Did Mum tell fibs a lot as a child?" Ayla asked curiously, grinning as her Aunt let out a scoff of laughter.

"She was . . . a handful," Narcissa said.

"Like me?" Ayla asked.

"You . . . You are very much like your mother," Narcissa sighed, "I must admit."

"Really?" Ayla's grin grew wider, "How so?"

"Well, you look like her-"

"Duh,"

Narcissa rolled her eyes at the girl, "don't be rude. You look like her, you're constantly questioning things . . . You refuse to go to sleep when you're told."

Ayla shook her head, resting her head back on the armchair as she joined her Aunt at staring into the fire. The two sat in relative silence for some time, with the crackling of the fire gently interrupting them.

"They should be back by now . . ." Ayla murmured.

"They haven't been too long . . ." Narcissa said, not quite able to convince her niece of her lack of worry too well.

"Have mother and father always followed The Dark Lord?" Ayla asked.

"Don't worry yourself about such things . . ." Narcissa looked to her niece for a moment then sighed as she realised the girl would not let up in her questioning, and surely some information was harmless, "I believe they were in school when they joined him. Towards the end of their education . . . Your Father joined him first and Bellatrix convinced him to take her along, as he's older than her so had already involved himself . . . Why don't we talk about something else, if you refuse to go to sleep? I could read you a story?"

"I'm a bit old to be read a story by my Aunt," Ayla huffed, thinking for a moment before a mischievous grin spread on her face "can I have a candied apple?"

"No," Narcissa laughed, "no you cannot. It's far too late and it will rot your teeth."

"But it's _Halloween_ ," Ayla pouted, "my parents will be fine with it."

"I'm sure they will be," Narcissa spoke sarcastically, "especially when you're bouncing off the walls on a sugar high until the early hours of the morning."

Ayla sat up straight, staring down her nose at her Aunt as she attempted to look mature "I can handle it."

"You might be able to but I most certainly cannot," Narcissa shook her head, "I—"

There was a loud crack of apparation from the hall and Narcissa immediately stood up, putting her hand up as Ayla went to join her.

"Stay here," Narcissa looked panicked, immediately rushing to the door.

"But—" though Ayla did not have a chance to argue with her Aunt, the door was closed as quickly as it was opened. "Calling me rude!" Ayla huffed, quickly getting to her feet and running after her despite her instructions. She made sure to stop just before the staircase without letting her Aunt see her, standing back a few paces as she realised her parents were not there though wanting to ensure she could hear what was going on. She never trusted the adults to tell her anything.

Narcissa Malfoy immediately knew something was wrong with her husband the moment she saw him in the main entrance hall of Malfoy Manor, ripping his mask off and drawing his wand as his mask instantly disappeared.

"Lucius?" Narcissa called to her husband cautiously, "Lucius what's wrong?"

"I—" Lucius shook his head, "He's gone."

"W-What?" Narcissa gasped, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, he's gone," Lucius hissed, "he was going to the Potter's, we were to meet him after—all of us. He never showed and then . . . My mark . . . Your sister went mad, screaming that we needed to do something but people started leaving and . . . I think he's dead . . ."


	13. Wrong

**Apologies, I meant to upload this on Sunday however I may have gotten Animal Crossing and got a bit distracted, hence it being a couple of days late.**

 **Anywho, as always please read, enjoy and please do leave a review if you have a moment!**

* * *

Ayla had soon realised that the conversation her Uncle was having with her Aunt was one of those occasions where she should not have been eavesdropping. She had still waited until she was sure the man was either going to stop or she was about to be caught, of course. The little girl had taken herself to her room in Malfoy Manor, laying under the duvet and staring up at the canopy of the four-poster bed as she tried not to think too hard about the night's events. She was sure that was where her parents had been, with her Uncle Lucius (and most likely her Uncle Rabastan as well), and she wondered what her parents would be doing at that moment. Hours went by until Ayla Lestrange eventually fell asleep.

She did not see her Uncle at the breakfast table the next morning, a fact she noted with some interest as she watched her Aunt feed her infant cousin. Narcissa moved her gaze from her son for a moment, catching sight of her niece staring at her. She gave the girl a forced smile and continued in her task.

"Where are my parents?" Ayla asked, uninterested in the mornings offering of scrambled eggs on toast.

"I—" Narcissa shook her head, "I don't know, Ayla. Your mother said she would pick you up as soon as she was able. I wouldn't expect her to be much longer."

"Are they okay?" Ayla asked.

Narcissa frowned, looking at the girl despite her sons protests at her waivered attention, "What makes you think they wouldn't be?"

Ayla quickly shook her head, moving her eggs around her plate with her fork, "I just . . . I worry about them . . ."

"Well, you needn't worry," Narcissa said, "that's not a job for little girls. It's a parent's job to worry, not the other way around."

"But—"

"No," Narcissa said, turning back to her whimpering son, "don't think of it. Now come on, eat up and I'm sure your mother will be here before you know it."

She went to open her mouth again, though she knew it was useless. As soon as breakfast was finished Narcissa took Ayla into the main living room, carrying Draco with them and letting the boy run across the room to a few toys she had summoned. Ayla looked curiously at her Aunt as she rushed to the window when the Daily Prophet came, quickly paying the bird she looked to the cover of the paper for a moment before she noticed her niece looking at her. With a flick of her wand, Narcissa sent the paper out of the room before the girl could catch a glimpse.

Ayla was just about to question her Aunt's odd behaviour when the fire turned a bright emerald green and her face lit up with a grin.

"Mum!" Ayla cried out.

Bellatrix Lestrange let her daughter run over to her, returning her hug she did not miss the worried look of her sister nor did she care to hide her own emotions too well on that morning. She looked like she hadn't slept, her hair was wilder than usual, still wearing the same robes she had been when she dropped off her daughter the previous day and her expression was clearly one of concern.

"Mum, are you okay?" Ayla asked, looking up at her mother, though for once she did not force a false smile at the girl.

"Bella—"

"Don't," Bellatrix said, "I don't want to . . ."

"Bella, I just want to talk to you," Narcissa said, "before you leave."

"Well," Bellatrix said, letting her daughter let go of her though she kept a hand on her shoulder, "what do you have to say?"

"Maybe not in front of the children," Narcissa said, "we could—"

"Anything you want to say to me you can say it now," Bellatrix snapped.

"I just . . ." Narcissa looked down at her niece before looking back to her elder sister, "I just want the children to be safe. I want to make sure you're okay, you and Rodolphus and Ayla."

"We will be fine," Bellatrix insisted, "nothing has changed."

"But Bella Lucius said . . . the paper says—"

"It's not true!" Bellatrix screeched, causing her daughter to jump, "He is not gone! I will find him."

"Bellatrix you need to focus," Narcissa got firmer in her words, ignoring her son as she could hear the beginnings of his whimpers at the commotion, "you need to get your story straight, hide things, Lucius—"

"Lucius is a traitor if he decides to hide away like the little worm he is!" Ayla couldn't help but stand slightly back from her mother, she had never seen the woman so angry before in her life, "I am not a traitor! I am not going to abandon him! I _will_ find him!"

"You have a daughter to think of, Bella," Narcissa said, almost pleadingly, "it's not just you. Just as we have Draco to think of. I will not let my family suffer."

"You see how much your family suffers when I find him," Bellatrix hissed, "see what happens when he finds out that you abandoned his cause."

Narcissa did not say a word, her son was now crying on the floor beside her as he reached up to pull on her skirts for attention. The two sisters glared at each other for a moment longer before Bellatrix turned and took her daughter's hand.

"Come on, Ayla," Bellatrix said, "it's time to go."

Ayla didn't dare speak, catching one final glance of her Aunt reaching down to take her child in her arms as her own mother turned and she was pulled into the familiar pull of side-along-apparation. Bella immediately let go of her daughter's hand as she arrived in Lestrange Manor, walking ahead of her without another word.

"Mum?" Ayla called, confused, though the woman didn't stop.

"Ayla," the girl turned at the sound of her father's voice, the man exiting one of the rooms and walking straight towards her.

"Father," Ayla sniffed, hugging her father tightly as he lifted her into his arms, "what's going on?"

"Nothing to worry about," Rodolphus assured her, kissing her head before he placed her on the floor again, "why don't you go to your room, I'll come up and see you in a bit."

"What's wrong with Mum?" Ayla asked, "Is . . . is he really gone?"

Rodolphus winced, "Don't worry yourself about such things, Ayla."

"But—"

"I mean it," Rodolphus spoke more firmly, "it's best not to discuss such matters at the moment . . . especially around your mother. Now go up to your room."

"But—"

" _Now_ , Ayla," Rodolphus insisted, causing his daughter to jump slightly before she ran off to her room.

* * *

"We will find him," Bellatrix hissed, turning to glare at her brother-in-law.

"I never said we wouldn't," Rabastan raised his hands in his defence, "all I'm saying is that it's getting a bit dangerous."

"It is worth it," Bellatrix narrowed her eyes at the man, "do you want to be the one to explain to The Dark Lord why you did not put your all into finding him? Why you gave up so easily?"

"Bella's right, Rab," Barty hissed as Rodolphus finished healing a cut on his forehead, muttering his thanks as the man walked away to sit on the couch nearest his wife who was currently carrying out her usual activity of pacing the floor.

"We need to move," Rabastan shook his head, "we'll never be able to find him otherwise. I'm amazed the ministry hasn't come blasting our doors off already at this point."

"We're careful," Rodolphus shook his head, "we won't be caught."

"Maybe we're being _too_ careful, maybe _that's_ the issue!" Bellatrix remarked, raising an eyebrow at her husband.

"We almost got caught today," Rabastan scoffed, "if Rod hadn't had grabbed Barty the second he got hit we'd be on our way to Azkaban right now."

"They didn't see us," Bellatrix insisted, "we're fine."

"Maybe we should rethink our plans," Rabastan shook his head, "we need to ensure that we're fully prepared. I mean, they're highly trained and I doubt their home will be without wards."

"Are you questioning my plan!?" Bellatrix screeched, "They are the only way! The ministry has to know! They are our only hope of learning of whatever information the Ministry is holding back from the public! Get off me!" Bellatrix snapped as her husband took her arm, pulling away from him. "Where are you going?"

Rabastan turned as he reached for the door, gritting his teeth as he tried not to curse his sister in law "I need the toilet, is that acceptable?"

The two stared at each other for a few moments before with a roll of his eyes he left the room. He despised the way his sister-in-law could be sometimes, though he fully agreed that they needed to find the Dark Lord in order to help his return to power he could not cope with another one of her screaming fits about the matter. She was clearly becoming more and more unstable by the day. Rabastan was just leaving the toilet and making his way back to the room when he bumped into his niece in the corridor, sitting behind one of the statues as she was clearly trying to listen in.

"Ayla?" Rabastan bit back his laughter as the girl jumped in surprise, nearly sending the poor old statue crashing to the floor if it wasn't for his quick spell work, "What are you doing out here?"

"Please don't tell my parents," Ayla begged, "Mum will get so mad if she thinks I'm eavesdropping again."

"Oh trust me," Rabastan scoffed, "the last thing I want to do is upset your mother."

"Thanks," Ayla smiled at her Uncle, looking towards the room the others were in, "what are you talking about? Is it about him again?"

Rabastan frowned at the girl, "Why are you here, Ayla?"

"I live here," Ayla raised an eyebrow at her uncle, looking all too much like her mother.

"I realise that," Rabastan shook his head, "though you are eight—"

"Eight and half," Ayla corrected.

"Eight and a half," Rabastan nodded in amusement, "which is still too young to be staying in the manor all alone."

"I'm not alone," Ayla said matter of factly, "you're here."

"Yes," Rabastan agreed, "though we have only just gotten back. I assumed you were with your Aunt and Uncle."

Ayla looked at the floor, shuffling her feet slightly, "Aunt Cissa won't have me over on my own anymore," she murmured, "she told Mum she didn't want to have to make up lies as to why I was over there and not with her. That it was too risky."

"Ah," Rabastan sighed.

"But I'm not risky," Ayla furrowed her brow in confusion, "I don't understand why I can't stay with her now—not that I don't like being near Mum and Dad but . . . what's going on?"

"Were you in the manor all alone for hours?" Rabastan asked, ignoring the girls own questions.

"No," Ayla shook her head, "the elf was here . . . but it was annoying me so I told it to leave me alone. I think I heard it yelling something about ironing its hands earlier. _What's going on, Uncle Rab_?"

"You are persistent," Rabastan sighed, "why don't you ask your parents?"

"They won't tell me," Ayla pouted, "please."

"Do you not think they won't tell you for a reason?" Rabastan raised his eyebrows, though as the child let out a breath and stared at the floor he couldn't help but feel sorry for her. He knelt down to her level, putting a hand on her shoulder "Ayla, you don't need to worry. Everything will be okay, trust your parents, okay? They just want what's best for you." He gave the girl a small smile as she looked up at him, though she didn't look anymore comforted than she had done previously, "Why don't you go to your room? I'll make sure your Mother and Father come up to say goodnight when we're finished."

"All anyone ever wants me to do is go to my room," Ayla huffed, " _Go to your room, Ayla. Don't ask questions, Ayla. Nothing's wrong, Ayla._ Well clearly something _is_ wrong, something's _really_ wrong and no-one has the guts to talk to me about it properly! I'm not an idiot!"

Ayla pulled away from her uncle, the man calling after her as she ran away from him and stormed up to her bedroom. He sighed, shaking his head as the girl disappeared from his sight.

"Rab?" Rodolphus called to his brother, standing at the open doorway he had clearly seen at least the end of their conversation though he didn't say anything about it, nodding for him to come back to join them.

* * *

Bellatrix was in bed before Rodolphus that night, though she was far from tired. Sleeping was something that Bellatrix did not find to come easily anymore, so instead of closing her eyes she turned on her side, watching her husband change into his nightclothes. The man looked to her as he pulled on his pyjama bottoms, usually he would have taken his wife watching him change as an invitation, though he knew better of late. The pair remained in silence until Rodolphus had finished getting changed, instead of walking over to his usual side of the bed he went over to his wife, kneeling in front of her as her eyes followed her silently.

"We'll find him . . ." Bellatrix breathed, her husband sighing and kissing her head.

"I know," Rodolphus moved to get into the bed with his wife.

"We need to move . . ." Bellatrix murmured, laying on her back.

"Where?" Rodolphus frowned, "We can't move, Bellatrix. The minute we make a move like that the ministry instantly recognise us as Death Eaters and we have to go underground."

"So?" Bellatrix sat up, looking down at her husband, "We need to do everything we can to find him."

" _So_ ," Rodolphus sighed, "we have a daughter to think about."

Bellatrix shrugged, "she can come with us. She's young, she'll be fine."

" _She's young_ is the problem, not the solution Bellatrix," Rodolphus argued.

"She won't remember—"

"She's 8 years old not 8 months old," Rodolphus scoffed, "and what are we supposed to do with her whilst we're out and about trying to hunt him down?"

"We'll take the elf with us," Bellatrix said matter of factly.

"We are not taking the bloody house elf on a trip to find The Dark Lord," Rodolphus laughed, "nor are we taking an eight-year-old girl."

Bellatrix glared at her husband, though he did not back down with his firm gaze. She closed her eyes, shaking her head as she rested her head in her hands. "This is what he was talking about, Rod . . ." her voice cracked as she was barely audible.

"What?" Rodolphus frowned, moving to sit next to his wife and placing a hand on her shoulder, "Bella . . ."

"He'll blame her . . ." Bella's whisper was barely audible, though the truth of it hit Rodolphus like a dagger, "if we don't go looking for him because we have to take care of her . . . he'll blame her . . . he could have killed her Rod, he could have made me get rid of her before she was even born, he let us keep her even though her mere existence symbolised a broken promise . . . I failed him once, I can't fail him again . . ."

Rodolphus considered the woman for a moment, sighing and pulling her into his arms. She rested her head on his chest, her hand reaching out and resting on his knee.

"We could ask your sister to look after her . . ." Rodolphus suggested, frowning as the woman let out a huff of forced laughter, "What?"

"I asked her already . . ." Bellatrix shook her head, "I asked her if she could look after her . . . just for a while, until this all blows over . . ."

Rodolphus looked down at his wife, deciding to ignore the fact that his wife had begun to make plans about their child already behind his back, "And what did she say?"

"She said," Bellatrix turned her lip, sitting up as she imitated her sister " _it wouldn't be proper,_ it would draw attention to _poor Lucius."_

"How?" Rodolphus asked.

"Because if we go missing as suspected Death Eaters and Ayla turns up with them they will assume they have knowledge about what's going on," Bellatrix spat, "then poor little Lucy's cover as a victim in all of this will be at risk. She won't do it . . . I tried to persuade her."

"I'm sure you did . . ." Rodolphus nodded, "you're right, we need to do something, we need a plan."

Bellatrix closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and turning to her husband. He couldn't remember the last time she had looked so serious, her piercing gaze sent a shiver down her spine.

"Do you trust me?" Bellatrix breathed.

"Of course . . ."

"Do you trust I would do anything to protect our daughter?" Bellatrix continued, waiting for him to give a small nod of his head before she continued, "I have a plan . . ."


	14. Change

**So slight delay in uploading this chapter, I'm sorry, I just got totally scatterbrained for a bit.**

 **Anyway, please do read, enjoy and please do leave a review as I LOVE hearing your thoughts!**

* * *

It had taken a mere matter of days for Bellatrix to put her plans into place, though finally, the day had come. Of course young Ayla Lestrange was none the wiser, merely enjoying the fact her parents seemed to be spending much more time with her than usual over the last few days, rather than questioning it. Though the little girl didn't see the looks her parents gave each other when she wasn't looking, nor pay attention to her mother leaving the manor twice in one day as this was far less than usual considering she hadn't left her alone at all the previous day.

The family of three sat in the living room, Ayla laid happily on the couch, her head in her mother's lap as she read her book whilst her mother stroked her hair.

"It will be bedtime soon . . ." Rodolphus said, his wife's gaze immediately snapping to him.

Ayla pouted, putting her book down, "It's not that late," she protested, "just a little while longer?"

"It's almost half-past eight," Rodolphus sighed, "you've already stayed up an hour longer than you should have."

"I'm not tired," Ayla sighed, though she turned on her side to face her father, snuggling further into her mother's lap.

"Maybe it wasn't a good idea to let you eat those sugar quills earlier . . ." Bella mused, smirking as the girl hit her leg playfully.

"That was a great idea," Ayla said, "you should have that idea every day."

"Okay," Bella laughed.

"So, more sugar quills tomorrow?" Ayla asked, knowing she was pushing her luck.

Bellatrix shook her head in amusement, a sad smile on her lips "Sure, why not."

Ayla giggled in amusement, sitting up slightly to hug her mother. The woman wrapped her arms around her, closing her eyes as she took in the moment.

"Only if you go to bed now though . . ." Rodolphus murmured, clearing his throat, "come on, come give your father a hug and your mother will put you to sleep."

"Okay," Ayla sighed, though she quickly sat up and ran over to her father. She jumped into her father's lap, wrapping her arms around him as she hugged him tightly, "carry me?"

Rodolphus nodded, taking his daughter fully in his arms as he stood and walked from the room. Bellatrix walked closely behind her, watching her daughter as she rested her head on her father's shoulder and closed her eyes. She looked so perfect, so peaceful, Bellatrix had to look away to compose herself for a moment before they walked into the girl's room. Her husband sat on the girl's bed with her still in his arms, sitting in silence until Bellatrix let out a small cough. They looked at each other, each knowing that they had a set time to have this done by, Rod gave a small nod before gently placing the girl on the bed (much to her groans of protest).

"Come now," Rodolphus sighed, leaning down and stroking the girl's dark locks away from her head before he leant down and kissed her on the forehead, "sleep, princess."

"Love you, Daddy," Ayla murmured, smiling up at him in all of her innocence.

"I—" Rod stopped, clearing his throat and giving the girl a sad smile "I love you too . . ." he turned to leave, catching the gaze of his wife before he practically ran from the room.

"Is Daddy okay?" Ayla frowned slightly, looking to her mother.

"Yes sweetie," Bellatrix lied, she had seen the sadness in his dark eyes, though she could not let the girl know this so instead sat on her bed and tucked in her sheets, "I . . . . I have something for you."

"A present?" Ayla grinned.

"Yes," Bella smiled, "a present of sorts. It's . . . it's not something new. But I wanted to give it to you, as it's special . . . something special for a special girl."

"What is it?" Ayla grinned, sitting up in her bed slightly as her mother pulled the item out of her pocket.

Bellatrix reached out slowly, as if hesitant at first, then took hold of the girl's hand and dropped the item in her small fingers. Ayla looked down as the metal chain slid between her fingers, the main charm resting in the middle of her palm. It was an old looking thing, strange yet oddly beautiful. The necklace was silver, the main charm an oval shape with green emeralds curled between intricate swirls framing it. Ayla stroked the main charm with her fingers, it looked empty, like something was missing.

"It's broken," Ayla frowned, "isn't there supposed to be something in the middle?"

"It's not broken," Bella gave a small smile, reaching over to take the necklace and place it around her daughter's neck "it's from when your father and I first started courting. It . . . it was never really my style, though I believe it would look beautiful on you."

The girl looked down at the necklace, clutching the charm as she smiled back up at her mother, "Thank you, Mum."

"Promise me you'll look after it?" Bella whispered, "Never take it off . . ."

"Won't father be sad that you gave me your necklace?" Ayla asked.

"No," Bella shook her head, "I was going to give it to you when you turned of age, but I thought you could look after it for now."

"Thanks Mum," Ayla reached out for her mother, the woman obliging as she moved to lay on the bed with her, letting the girl curl into her side, "I love you . . ."

"I love you too . . ." Bella forced herself not to choke on her words, holding the girl close, "now sleep beautiful . . . I'll stay a little while."

Ayla smiled as she closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around her mother as the woman stroked her hair, gently humming her to sleep. The woman continued to stroke the girls hair absentmindedly, staring at the door as she tried to put all thoughts from her head. Though Bella was sure it was not the case, it felt like only seconds had passed when her husband slowly opened the door and looked down at his wife and daughter.

"It's time, Bella," he murmured, "she's expecting us."

Bellatrix swallowed hard, giving him a small nod. She drew her wand as Rodolphus took a small bag from the pockets of his robes, waving his own wand as the girl's clothes began to soar from her draws and wardrobe and into the bag. Bellatrix couldn't look at the girl as she put her wand to her temple, muttering the spell to ensure the she remained asleep. She slowly and hesitantly disentangled herself from her daughter, rising from the bed only to turn to look back down at her.

"Bella . . ." Rodolphus breathed, reaching out and placing a hand on his wife's shoulder, "you're right . . . it's for the best."

". . . I know." Bellatrix gave a stiff nod, taking a deep breath before she pointed her wand at the child and muttered the spell she hoped to never have to use on her own daughter, " _Obliviate . . ._ "

Ayla moaned slightly in her sleep, shifting and turning slightly under the duvet as she looked almost pained. As she was sure she had finished the spell correctly Bellatrix twisted her wand again. Though the ordeal was over as soon as it had begun, with her body relaxing back into her bed. Bellatrix lowered her wand, turning to the door and swatting away tears that she had hoped would not fall.

"Done . . . ?" Rod's voice was barely audible.

"Yes," Bellatrix answered, "we need to leave . . ."

Rodolphus didn't question his wife as she strode from the room, walking over to his only child and gathering her into his arms for the second time that evening.

The distinct pop of apparataion broke the silence of the small wizarding village, announcing the trio's arrival to the otherwise deserted road. After a few moments it was Rodolphus who was the first one to take the steps down the stone pathway of the garden, his wife quickly following him. Bellatrix tried not to take too much notice of the home, it was most certainly not as large nor as grand as Lestrange Manor, though she had decided that it was good enough for the time she needed.

Rodolphus allowed his wife to step forward and knock the door of the home, adjusting his daughter in his arms as he noted Bellatrix was not looking at either of them. The large door creaked open, a figure leaning out for a moment before she stepped back and allowed the couple to come inside.

"Quickly," she hissed, closing the door behind them as soon as they were beyond the threshold, "this is your daughter?"

Bellatrix gave a small nod, narrowing her eyes slightly as the woman looked over the girl for a moment. "You have the gold?"

"To the point, aren't we Rowle?" Bellatrix hissed.

"You have to be nowadays dear," Euphemia shrugged, "this isn't exactly a simple task you are asking of me."

"All you need to do is look after our child," Bellatrix struggled to keep her annoyance out of her tone, reaching into her pockets, "it's not for a long time."

"No," Euphemia scoffed, "you're not paying me enough to take her _forever_. Now, _gold_?"

" _You—_ "

"Bella," Rodolphus interjected, stopping his wife from slinging insults at the woman they had procured to help them in their time of need. She glared at him for a moment before she pulled a large sack of gold from her pockets, holding it out until the woman snatched it from her grasp.

The older witch inspected the contents of the bag for a moment before she was decidedly happy with the amount and placed it in the draw of the unit behind her. "You've done as we discussed?" she asked.

"Her memory has been wiped," Rodolphus answered, "she doesn't remember—she doesn't remember us. You're to tell her she was in an accident, that—"

"Yes, yes," Euphemia sighed, "that she was found wandering the streets. No-one is sure who her parents are."

"I've placed false memories," Bellatrix spoke, though there was no emotion in her voice, "she will remember it as a haze, remember walking down the roads, collapsing . . . You found her."

"Yes," Euphemia nodded, "but you'll be back for her soon?"

"As soon as we can," Bellatrix lifted her head, looking back to the woman with a threatening glare, "you will look after her."

"Of course," Euphemia rolled her eyes, "you can place her in her room, up the stairs second door to the right."

Rodolphus hesitated for a moment before he went up the stairs, he waited for Bellatrix though he turned to see her still glaring at the woman before her. With a small sigh he carried on, kissing his daughters head as he went to take her to the small bedroom. Bellatrix did not follow her husband, and without another word she quickly left the home of Euphemia Rowle, disapparating without her husband and going straight to her own room. It was there that her husband found her nearly an hour later, curled on her bed, tears staining her pale cheeks as she stared blankly at the photograph of her daughter on the nightstand. Rodolphus didn't say a word, changing into his bedclothes before he crawled into the bed beside his wife. He reached out, rolling her into himself as he took her into his arms, the woman clutching onto his nightshirt as she shook with silent sobs.

"We did the right thing . . ." Rodolphus breathed, blinking back his own slight tears as he buried his face in the woman's hair "it's not forever . . ."

* * *

The days went by in a blur after the disappearance of the Lestrange family, as when little Ayla was handed over the couple quickly disappeared from the public eye. Well, in name at least, for though nobody could tell you where the Lestrange family had gone their crimes appeared frequently within The Daily Prophet. They travelled up and down the country, Bellatrix, Rodolphus, Rabastan and even little Barty Crouch Jr, determined to find their master by any means necessary.

It was a mere two months after the fateful night that their daughter had been hidden that the Death Eaters found themselves within the living room of Frank and Alice Longbottom.

"You know where he is!" Bellatrix screeched, her dark hair a wild mess of curls as the witch glared down at the quivering body of Alice Longbottom.

"If I-I did I wouldn't t-tell you!" the woman spat, quickly yelling out in agony as with a twist of her wand and hiss of a spell Bellatrix quickly had the woman writhing in agony on the floor again.

"I've lost this one," Barty tilted his head, looking down at the mess of a man on the floor in front of him, quivering and muttering nonsense at the odd interval "Frank has lost the plot."

Bellatrix cackled, though she continued the torture of the woman in front of her despite her attempts to reach her husband.

"Frank!" Alice screeched.

Bellatrix lifted the spell, smirking at the woman as the men abandoned their now pointless watch of the male Auror.

"Last chance deary," Bellatrix pouted as all four of them pointed their wands at the woman.

Alice gritted her teeth, tears streaming down her face, her hands clenched into fists as she lay splayed on the floor. She followed the dark witch with her eyes, grimacing as she knelt down next to her and stroked her messed up hair away from her sweaty forehead and leaned in so closely her lips almost touched the woman's ear.

"Tell me where he is . . ." Bellatrix whispered.

Alice took a deep pained breath, looking directly into Bella's eyes as she pulled away slightly, "Fuck you!" she screamed, and without warning she lunged forward enough to headbutt the woman with a loud thud.

Bellatrix yelled out, falling backwards and clutching her head.

"FILTH!" Bellatrix screamed, kicking out to ensure her foot collided with the woman's ribs with a definite crack, "I'm done with you!"

Rodolphus lifted his wife to her feet, though no sooner had he lifted her had she pulled from his grasp. The pair moved forward, joining the other pair in pointing their wands at the woman.

"You don't get to die," Bellatrix hissed, "death is too easy. _Crucio!_ "

The woman's screams went long into the night, rebounding off the walls of the home and drowning all other noise. So much so that the Death Eaters did not realise the cry of a small child from the room upstairs, nor did they realise when the woman finally snapped the wards altered in the home, too concerned on their mission. Rodolphus Lestrange was the first, however, to notice the multiple pops of apparation mere feet from the home, though by that point it was too late. There was no escape from arrest on that night.


	15. Stranger

**Hope you're all keeping safe out there!**

 **Please read, enjoy and please do leave a review for this latest chapter!**

* * *

Narcissa Malfoy had heard the news by way of the morning's daily prophet. Luckily it was her husband that had reached the paper before her, so she was saved the immediate shock of seeing her sister's mad face screaming and trying to escape Aurors from the front cover. He softened the blow slightly, taking her in his arms at her initial gasp of shock as tears sprung to her eyes unwittingly, though she could tell from the look in his features he was hiding what he truly wanted to say; _I told you so_. Narcissa had not necessarily agreed with her husband's plan to get out of their problems with the ministry after the Dark Lords downfall, though as she held her sleeping little boy in her arms that night she knew that she would do anything to protect her family. She couldn't quite contemplate why Bellatrix would not have done the same for her daughter, though she knew Bellatrix would do anything for her master surely she would also do anything to keep her child safe? She had been in shock when her sister had come to her asking her to take the child. She couldn't have, it wouldn't have worked—besides she knew exactly what Lucius' thoughts on the matter would be before she even asked him. In the pit of her stomach she knew how her sister would end up, she knew she would soon be behind bars in Azkaban prison. Though that did not make the initial shock of their arrest any less of a blow.

The Malfoy's had stayed mainly out of the public eye since The Dark Lord's downfall, though Lucius thought it important to show his face in public (though much less frequently than he had done previously), Narcissa did not want the public eye on her just yet. The first time that she left Malfoy Manor was months after his downfall, fully in the public eye as she walked the halls of the Ministry of Magic on her way down to the courtrooms. She held her head high, trying not to make too much eye contact with the people staring nor listen to the obvious whispers she could hear as she walked by huddled pairs of people clearly gossiping at her expense. She didn't speak a word to anyone unless absolutely necessary, merely giving a nod to an old acquaintance who had told her of the hearing. The Ministry had apparently decided that it was not wise to announce the trial of Barty Crouch Jr, Bellatrix, Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange, a fact that Narcissa was glad of, for the lack of vultures from the press. Though she did notice Rita Skeeter sat within the stands and Narcissa had to hold back a scoff at the sight. Narcissa could vividly remember her sister and Rita Skeeter as loose companions at school, though she was sure the witch would deny all connection to her sister if asked now.

She made her way to the back of the room, eager to avoid too many unwanted stares as she found a seat in the far corner. It did not take long for the trial to start and soon Narcissa found herself looking towards the main doors as her own big sister was taken into the room in chains along with the rest. Narcissa swallowed, sure to keep her gaze as emotionless as possible as she watched her sister take her seat as if it were her own throne.

"You have been brought here before the Council of Magical Law," Barty Crouch was stood, looking down upon the four with pure hatred in his face, "so that we may pass judgement on you, for a crime so heinous—"

Narcissa couldn't help but flinch as she heard the cries of the man's son, decidedly not focusing on the words being spoken but instead looking down at her sister. The woman looked bizarrely calm for someone about to be sent to the worst place imaginable, scanning the crowd with her heavy-lidded eyes in what almost seemed like amusement. Narcissa forgot to breathe as her sister's gaze met her own, using all her strength to keep her composure as her sister narrowed her eyes at her from her seat.

"I now ask the jury," shouted Mr Crouch, "to raise their hands if they believe, as I do, that these crimes deserve a life sentence in Azkaban."

Narcissa watched as, in unison, the witches and wizards along the right-hand side of the room raised their hands. Narcissa let out a breath as the room burst into cheers of savage triumph, broken only by the screams of young Barty Crouch Jr as the Dementors began to glide back into the room and the other three rose quietly from their seats. Bellatrix looked up at Mr Crouch, her eyes lit with passion as she called out to him.

"The Dark Lord will rise again, Crouch! Throw us into Azkaban, we will wait! He will rise again and will come for us, he will reward us beyond any of his other supporters! We alone were faithful! We alone tried to find him!"

Though the power of the dementors was clearly beginning to drain the lot of them, despite the boys continued screams at his father. Narcissa ignored the rest of the noise, watching as her sister was swept from the room. She almost jumped out of her seat, immediately putting her hand on her wand as she felt a shoulder on her arm. She gave the man a disapproving look as he looked down at her, rolling his eyes as he nodded towards the exit. She followed him without question, going further into the ministry until she was in the hidden hallways behind the courtrooms. He stopped at the end of the last hallway, turning to the witch and holding out his hand expectantly.

Narcissa rolled her eyes, pulling a small sack of gold from her robes and placing it in his hands "My sister?"

"Come on," he nodded towards the first door, opening it for the woman and allowing him to go ahead, "we'll fetch her."

Narcissa gave a small nod, waiting until the man closed the door before she let out a breath and closed her eyes for a moment, trying to regain her emotions as she thought on what she had just witnessed. The room around her was empty, bar from rungs screwed into the stone wall opposite and a couple of worn wooden chairs. Clearly this was a holding room for the prisoners awaiting the trials.

"Get off me!" a scream came from outside the door, Narcissa taking a few steps back as the door flung open and her sister was dragged through the doorway by a pair of men, "scum! Filth! You—" the woman paused as she caught sight of her little sister, standing prim and proper by the opposite wall, she let out a bark of laughter as the men secured a length of chain from her restraints to the wall.

The man who had brought Narcissa to her sister turned to look at her, "You have ten minutes," he waited for the woman to nod before he left the room with his colleague, closing the door behind them with a thud.

The two women stood in silence, Narcissa slowly moving her gaze to look over her sister. She was nothing like her usual appearance, her curled hair wild, her robes completely dishevelled, the woman looked like she had not bathed in days.

"Bella—"

"Come to gloat, Cissa?" Bellatrix tilted her head, looking to her sister with a crazed fury behind her heavy-lidded eyes, "Come to say I told you so?"

"No," Narcissa shook her head, "I would never—"

"Then what?" Bellatrix raised her eyebrows at the woman, "Come to tell me old Lucy has changed his mind about his loyalties? Or have you come to break me out?" the woman laughed at her own last comment.

"No . . ." Narcissa breathed, "Bella . . ."

"What?" Bellatrix snapped, "Spit it out, I have important things to be getting to, busy day ahead. I've got some new friends to meet, I've heard they're not great conversationalists but I'm sure the dementors and I will have the world of fun."

Narcissa winced, "Bella . . ." raising her hand as her sister went to open her mouth again, " _stop._ I came here for you."

"That's nice of you," Bellatrix spat, "you didn't seem all that concerned for me a little while ago when I came to you for help!"

"I am trying to help you now," Narcissa spoke firmly, trying not to rise to her sister's anger.

"How could you possibly help me now? Is ickle Cissa going to break her big sister out of her chains?" Bellatrix laughed, "I think not."

Narcissa looked the woman up and down, waiting for her to finish her laughter before she carried on in a serious tone, "Where's Ayla, Bellatrix?"

The maniacal grin on Bellatrix Lestrange's face instantly disappeared, her lips thinning as she narrowed her eyes at the blonde witch, "Why do you care?" Bellatrix barely whispered.

"She's my niece," Narcissa said simply, "I care about what happens to her."

"Yet you wouldn't help her when she needed it," Bellatrix growled, "I came to you for help and you refused."

"I _couldn't_ take her, Bella," Narcissa was almost pleading with the woman now, taking a step closer towards her, "you know why I couldn't take her."

"So your husband could be a traitor to the Dark Lord," Bellatrix spat.

"Bella—" Narcissa looked to the door quickly before looking back to her sister, "Just tell me where she is, I can help."

"Why?" Bellatrix screeched, "What would you do? Would you take her in? Your own flesh and blood? Or would you turn her over to the ministry, to be raised in some orphanage with scum?"

"I want to help her!" Narcissa yelled back, gaining confidence as she refused to let her sister scare her, "She is my niece and I want to make sure that my sister's daughter is safe!"

Bellatrix considered the woman, looking down her nose at the blonde witch before she snapped her head to the side, blinking back tears that she did not mean to shed.

"Bella," Narcissa whispered, taking a step forward again until she could reach out and take her sisters chained hand, "please."

The older witch allowed her sister to squeeze her hand, choking back her tears before she finally spoke again, amazed at how calm she managed to keep her quiet tone, "She's with Euphemia Rowle," Bellatrix whispered, "I paid her gold to keep her for a time until I could return to her. I wanted her safe from the ministry, I didn't want her to end up somewhere that I didn't know. I wiped Ayla's memory, so she didn't go looking for us and couldn't be compromised for information—because that's what the Ministry would do to her. I wanted to keep her away from it all . . . the arrangement was for a year at most, then I was to give her more gold if I needed her to continue . . . I can't exactly pay her from Azkaban though, can I? . . . She'll likely turn her out on the streets."

"Oh, Bella . . ." Narcissa leant forward, hugging her sister tightly despite the awkwardness of her chains. She felt the woman's arms come up as best she could within her constraints, resting her hands on her sides, "I won't let that happen, I'll help."

"I don't want them to know," Bellatrix breathed, "I don't want them to know where she is . . . they think she's missing, that or dead . . . I would _never_ harm my own child Narcissa. Never!"

"I know, I—" Narcissa turned slightly as the door to the room opened, the two men from earlier reappearing, "That was hardly ten minutes."

"It's time," the man said with a shrug, walking towards the pair.

Narcissa gasped as her sister pulled her closer for a moment, the men yelling for to get off as they ran over to them, perfectly disguising the address Bellatrix had whispered to her sister. The younger witch was pulled from her sister with no warning, hissing at the man as his colleague pointed his wand at Bellatrix.

"Get your filthy hands off of me," Narcissa wrinkled her nose at the man, staring down at him before without another word he led her from the room.

* * *

Narcissa did not tell her husband of her plans, leaving her son with the house-elf one Monday as Lucius had left for some appointment with some ministry official. She purposely wore her dark travelling cloak, not for the warmth that it offered against the cold winter's day, but as it was perhaps one of the least expensive-looking garments she owned and Narcissa Malfoy was not in the business of being recognised in the small wizarding village she was off to today. She made sure to pull up her hood to cover her blonde locks before turned on the spot and disapparated from Malfoy Manor.

As she arrived on the outskirts of the village Narcissa was sure to keep her head down, looking up every few moments to search for the house she was looking for, she was adamant that she did not want to be seen and recognised on this particular trip. Narcissa soon found the house, taking a breath before she stepped onto the stone pathway leading to the home. She looked down the street both ways to ensure no-one was looking before she gave a sharp knock at the door.

"Yes?" came a woman's voice from behind the door, Narcissa rolled her eyes unwilling to start yelling on the woman's doorstep she merely knocked the door again, "Alright, alright," the door opened slightly, the witch popping her head around the corner as her eyes quickly turned wide "Mrs Malfoy . . ."

"May I come in?" She asked, holding her hands in front of herself she did not wait for the woman to speak again as Mrs Rowle opened the door for her, striding ahead as quickly as she could and turning to ensure the woman had closed the door abruptly behind them. Narcissa could not help but look around the small home, it was not terrible, though nothing compared to what Ayla Lestrange would have been used to. Euphemia walked ahead of her, opening the door to the living room Narcissa followed her in silence. Neither witch spoke a word until both were sat on opposite armchairs in the modestly sized room.

"And how can I help you today, Mrs Malfoy?" Euphemia asked, raising an eyebrow at the woman.

"You know why I'm here," Narcissa said simply, though as the woman merely tilted her head in response Cissa rolled her eyes, "Ayla. I spoke to Bellatrix. She told me you have her."

"Ah," Euphemia nodded, "Sorry, can't be too careful nowadays. I didn't want to come straight out with it."

"Of course," Narcissa agreed, though she could not help but think Ayla Lestrange was the least likely to be at risk with The Dark Lord gone and her parents behind bars. "You still have her?"

"Yes," Euphemia scoffed, "it was only supposed to be for a short while though. The child is abhorrent."

"She's a _child_ ," Narcissa narrowed her eyes for a moment, though quickly shook the gesture off, "she's safe?"

"Of course she's safe," Euphemia looked offended at the woman's words, "what sort of person do you take me for? Think I was about to kill the poor thing? I said she was abhorrent, yes, but I'm not about to follow her parents to Azkaban any time soon over such a thing. As you said, she's a child; she's manageable . . . Though I suppose you'll be wanting her now?"

"I—" Narcissa took a breath, hesitating for a moment before she gave a small shake of her head, "I want to ensure she is safe. I was hoping . . . I was hoping that my sister's arrangement with yourself could remain in place."

"Her parents are gone," Euphemia scoffed, "I've read the papers, they went down for life. I know your sister was yelling about The Dark Lord returning for her—"

"She is sure of it," Narcissa agreed, even though she herself was constantly silently praying that her sister was not correct, "he _will_ be back."

"When?" Euphemia almost seemed intrigued, leaning forward in her seat slightly, "I have to admit, I wasn't against his ideals—a world without the filth? Sounds just perfect to me . . . but I can't wait long. I'm getting old you see—and having a child causes strain on that, especially one as rambunctious as little Miss Ayla. That's not to mention the financial strain."

Narcissa forced a smile at the woman, "Of course," she knew that the Rowle family had more than enough gold to care for Ayla, it was true they weren't the richest of pureblood families, though they were certainly not poor. "I will pick up the costs. I'll send you a monthly allowance for the girl."

Euphemia seemed to consider the witch for a moment before the inevitable question came to her lips "How much?"

"Name a price," Narcissa gave a small shrug, "though I wish to see Ayla, too ensure she is safe. I won't bother you after today, though I will ensure she is monitored."

"So trusting," Euphemia laughed.

"You've met my sister," Narcissa raised her eyebrows, "it runs in the family."

"I've only had the pleasure of meeting the one sister of yours," Euphemia smirked, ignoring the glare she received as she rose to her feet, "wait here."

Narcissa let out a huff of distaste after the woman had left the room, sitting back in her seat slightly. She looked around the room, it seemed a well enough home, she was sure Ayla could be happy here given the chance. A shudder went down the woman's spine as she noted the cage in the corner. There, in an ornate birdcage, sat a thin and mournful looking bird looking to her curiously with its rounded blue eyes. Narcissa had always detested Augery's, despite her elder sister's fascination with them growing up.

"Mrs Malfoy," Euphemia snapped Narcissa out of her thoughts, the younger witch standing to her feet as she entered the room.

"Ayla," Narcissa let out a breath of relief, a smile immediately gracing her lips the moment she saw the little girl.

Ayla Lestrange looked as well as she ever had done, though the girl stood slightly behind Euphemia and where Narcissa would have usually expected the girl to return her smile and go to her in greeting she instead stood by the woman with a confused frown on her features.

"Do I know you?" Ayla asked curiously, watching as the smile on Narcissa Malfoy's face immediately disappeared.

Narcissa swallowed, ignoring the feeling as if she had been punched in the stomach by the girl's words. She had forgotten about the memory charm in place over her niece for a moment.

"Now, Ayla," Euphemia interrupted the heavy silence of the room, "that isn't a nice way to say hello to our guest. This is Narcissa Malfoy."

"Sorry," Ayla sighed, "but do you know me?"

"No," Euphemia said, "Narcissa is a friend of mine, she had heard that I had taken in a young girl and merely wanted to meet her. Isn't that right, Narcissa?"

"Yes," the words felt forced to the blonde witch, though as she watched her niece look to the floor with a small nod she knew she didn't suspect her. Narcissa took a step forward, causing the girl to look up at her again, "Are you happy here with Euphemia? She's taking care of you?"

Ayla nodded, "Yes . . ."

"Ayla," Euphemia reached up and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, "why don't you go back to your room? I'll call you down for supper shortly."

Ayla stared at Narcissa curiously, her brows furrowed not moving from the spot. "Ayla, go to your room," Euphemia repeated, rolling her eyes as the girl let out a small huff and left the room. The older woman closed the door behind her, waiting until she could hear Ayla's own door close from within the house before she carried on speaking. "See? She's fine."

"She seems . . ." Narcissa frowned, ". . . not herself."

"Well she's not herself, is she," Euphemia scoffed, "Bellatrix put a memory charm on her. I'm sure she told you all about it. Poor thing woke up confused and yelling the morning after she was given to me. Bellatrix had told me the story, so I told the girl. As far as Ayla is concerned she was found in Knockturn Alley with a bang to the head, she clearly doesn't have parents or else they would have been for her. She's asked about them and I told her they were missing, no-one sure of who they really were. We've been in a war, it's not unheard of."

"She thinks she's some poor war orphan?" Narcissa wrinkled her nose, "Does she at least know her proper blood?"

"Yes," Euphemia rolled her eyes, "Bellatrix was very clear on not letting her daughter think she was some scum, she knows she's a pureblood. There are spells to test such things, I simply told her I did one . . . She's safe here. She'll not want for much—so long as you keep to your end of the bargain."

Narcissa gave a curt nod, "Yes . . . I'll send the elf, once a month. If anything happens to her—"

"It won't," Euphemia narrowed her eyes, "I am not about harming children."

"Children get sick, they come in harms way naturally . . . I want to know she's safe." Narcissa breathed.

"I'll send you updates," Euphemia said, raising an eyebrow at the woman, "Is that all?"

Narcissa stared at the woman for a moment, thoughts racing through her mind before she forced herself to stop and nod. Narcissa Malfoy left without another word, leaving her niece to be raised by a practical stranger.


	16. Hogwarts

**Happy Sunday all! If anyone would like to find me the cure for hayfever it will be more than welcomed, trying to write with this amount of pollen is not okay haha Hope you're all happy and healthy and as always please do read, enjoy and please do read a review!**

 **Thank you :)**

* * *

Ayla had not led what she would consider to be a normal life. For starters, she could only truly remember the last three years of her life with any clarity. She had the odd dream, of a woman with hair just like hers with a dark-haired man. Ayla liked to believe that these were memories of her parents, though truthfully she had no way of knowing and when she asked Euphemia about her parents she got nothing but short responses. She quickly learned that Euphemia either truly knew nothing about her parents or that she simply didn't want to tell her. The only real piece of information she had managed to get from the witch was one day when she had thought to ask about the one piece of jewellery that she always wore. Euphemia told her she had had her necklace when she had come to her, and as such Ayla never parted with what she believed to be her only connection to her parents. Though Ayla had not led a horrific life she did not find Euphemia Rowle to be the best of company, always sure that the witch would rather be doing anything else than looking after some child she had been found, forever reminding her that she didn't have to take her in. Therefore the day that Ayla had turned eleven years old was for certain the best day of her life to date.

For starters, Ayla had never been sure Euphemia had truly known when her birthday was, though knowing this letter only came on your eleventh birthday was a sure confirmation that she now knew the day of her birth. She had grabbed the letter from the owl, ripping it open with glee the moment she noticed the school crest embossed into the red wax. She frowned slightly when the letter read Ayla Rowle, almost hoping that this letter would somehow know her true last name. She knew she wasn't a Rowle, Euphemia had told her as much, though for simplicities sake she had taken the name. The girl had begged her caretaker to take her to Diagon Alley immediately, though she had long since learned that Euphemia only ever did things when she thought it convenient. Therefore it was three weeks later when they finally stepped into Diagon Alley.

"Don't go wandering off," Euphemia sighed, looking down the street and completely ignoring the girl with her dark eyes twinkling with excitement, "give me your list . . . Ayla!"

Ayla snapped out of her thoughts, sticking her hands in her pockets and pulling out the piece of parchment to hand to the woman. She gave a small nod as she looked over the list before she walked to the apothecary. Ayla had been to Diagon Alley on a few occasions before, mostly when she had grown out of her clothes and was in dire need of a trip to Madam Malkin's, but today the whole placed seemed so much more . . . magical. Euphemia walked around the apothecary with her list in her hand, picking up the odd item that the girl needed whilst the young girl wandered around the small shop. Ayla couldn't help but touch things she knew she shouldn't, becoming extremely curious about the items and what potions they could be used in. She stopped paying attention when Euphemia would call her to follow her, barely taking notice until the woman had already paid unbeknownst to her and taken her by the arm to drag her out of the shop.

"You are so disobedient, I can't get you to just stand in one place without touching something?" Euphemia snapped, though the young girl seemed unphased.

"I'm curious . . ." Ayla shrugged.

"You're a terror," Euphemia scoffed. She drew her wand, rolling her eyes as the girl took a step back before she pointed at the girl's letter and duplicated it, thrusting a copy in her hand along with a small bag of coins. "Go to the bookstore," she pointed to Flourish and Blott's, giving the girl a small push in the correct direction, "there's enough on there for you to find to keep you occupied whilst I do some shopping. Get the books and wait outside—no wandering."

"Fine," Ayla sighed, trying to hide her excitement at being allowed to go off on her own (She was sure Euphemia purposely stopped her from doing anything she found even slight enjoyment in) and dashing down the road. She ignored the yell of her name being called in scorn as she accidentally bumped into an old witch, diving into the shop before she could be stopped. She gave the shopkeeper a sheepish grin as the witch raised an eyebrow at her rushed demeanour, muttering apologies before she went off in search of her books. In truth, they were easy to find, given the fact that most of the books required for Hogwarts students were in the same section, though the girl made a point of pretending she could not find the last book so she could buy herself some time inside the store away from her guardian.

She ran her finger along the rows and rows of books, smiling to herself as she skimmed some of the titles in curiosity. She was just about to pick up a copy of _The Tales of Beadle the Bard_ when she toppled forward after something collided into her back.

"I'm sorry!" A little girl sighed, getting to her knees as she picked up Ayla's books from the floor, "sorry, I'm so clumsy sometimes. I wasn't looking where I was going and backing up and—Mum says I need to look where I'm going but hey, I'll never learn, will I?"

Ayla shook her head, looking up to the girl as she stood up with a grin to face her, holding out her books. She looked around her age, though strange for an eleven-year-old. The girl had a heart-shaped face, pale skin and—perhaps more shockingly—two bright pink plaits.

"Sorry," the girl repeated again, waiting for the girl to take her books back from her before she gave her a small smile.

"It's fine . . ." Ayla said, "I'm not the best coordinated myself . . ."

"Well, welcome to the clumsy club," she laughed, "I'm Dora, well _Nymphadora_ —but that is the god-awful name my mother gave me and I swear as soon as September comes I'm completely disowning it. What sort of woman calls her kid Nymphadora?"

"I don't know," Ayla couldn't help but let out a slightly nervous laugh.

"What's your name?" Dora asked.

"Oh—I'm Ayla," she said, ". . . are you going to Hogwarts in September too?"

"Yep!" Dora grinned, "I can't wait, it's going to be so much fun. I—"

"Nymphadora!" a woman's voice called from within the shop and Ayla couldn't help but widen her eyes in shock as Dora's hair turned red.

"Dora!" the girl called back, rolling her eyes and shaking her head as her hair returned to pink as if nothing had just happened, "I told her not to call me that anymore. Well, I'll see you at school then Ayla! Bye!"

Ayla watched as the girl bounded off to meet who she assumed was her mother, slowly following her to see her meet the woman at the counter.

"I told you not to wander off," the woman sighed, not turning to see her daughter as she jumped up to the counter beside her.

"Sorry Mum," Dora groaned, biting her lip as her mother looked down at her with a raised eyebrow, "sorry . . . can we get my robes now?"

The woman nodded, saying goodbye to the shopkeeper before leaving the store with the strange pink-haired child.

After that day in Diagon Alley Ayla counted down the days to September 1st, packing and repacking her trunk countless times in her excitement. She ignored the usual remarks from Euphemia, snapping at her to slow down as she ran through the hallways, to be quiet as she tried to pronounce some of the incantations of spells in her books, to go to sleep as she stayed up until past midnight looking over at her things for the thousandth time. The little girl couldn't help the grin that seemed to be permanently plastered on her face from the moment she woke up on September 1st, despite Rowle's warning to act properly when in public. Ayla didn't see the point, though every few moments when the woman looked behind her to ensure that the girl was still 'properly presented' she made sure to bite back her smile and stand up straight.

The moment Ayla arrived through the barrier at Platform 9 ¾ she was in awe, her dark eyes wide as saucepans. There were children of all ages everywhere, some of the older children already gathered with their friends whilst the younger children—nearly all the children her age—were stood with their parents. Mothers and fathers leant down and held their children tightly, brushed off the dust from their collars and ruffled their hair in jest. Ayla couldn't help but be jealous of the other children, averting her gaze to her own caretaker who seemed more concerned with the time on her wristwatch than her.

"You can go if you want," Ayla said, "I can get on the train myself."

The woman looked down at her as if considering it for a moment before she shook her head, "Get on the train and then I'll leave."

Ayla opened her mouth to protest, though the stern gaze from the older woman gave her was far too familiar and she immediately knew it was best to remain silent. She begrudgingly walked over to the train with the woman at her side, finding the nearest compartment and pulling her trunk up as quickly as she could.

"Bye then," Ayla said simply, going to turn away from the woman though she grabbed her wrist in a vice-like fashion and was quickly turned to look back at her.

"Behave yourself," Euphemia warned, her eyes narrowing at the girl, "I do not want owls home about your behaviour."

Ayla felt the annoyance rising within herself, though she simply raised her eyebrows at the woman, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "Since when did I misbehave, Euphemia?"

The older woman scoffed, roughly letting go of the girl and walking away without another word. Ayla was relieved the moment she lost sight of the woman, like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders and she could finally relax and get excited for the year ahead of her without fear. She sat down in the empty compartment with a sigh, grinning to herself as she watched the station slowly move away from them as the train began its journey.

"Wotcher!" A chirpy voice made Ayla jump out of her daydream, she had not realised the new arrival to her compartment though there stood a familiar girl, though today she sported short spikey pink hair as she bit her lip in amusement, "sorry, didn't mean to make you jump."

"It's fine . . ." Ayla shrugged, smiling back at the girl slightly.

"I've met you before," Dora grinned, "in Diagon Alley, remember? Dora, president of the clumsy club?"

"Right," Ayla nodded, "I remember . . ."

"Yeah, well," Dora rubbed the back of her neck as she looked to the empty seats in the compartment, "I noticed you were on your own and thought you could use a bit of company—nothing to do with the fact I don't fancy sitting on my own for the long journey or the fact there aren't any other seats empty anymore. I did try to find a seat," Dora mused, "though Mum thought it was the best time to give me the lecture on behaving myself and all that malarkey—for the thousandth time I may add."

"Right . . ." Ayla smiled, nodding slightly as she gestured to the empty seat opposite her, "well, try not to trip on your way to your seat."

"Don't tempt me," Dora laughed, walking into the compartment and plonking herself down onto the seat, "So, excited?"

"You think?" Ayla couldn't help but laugh, unable to help herself relaxing around the bubbly young witch, "I can't wait."

"What house do you think you'll get?" Dora asked, "I don't like the sound of Gryffindor, Mum says they're all bull-headed, I don't think I'm quite smart enough for Ravenclaw . . . Mum was a Slytherin," Dora sighed, "but I'm definitely more like my Dad—he was a Hufflepuff, which is a fair house I suppose. Loyal, just . . . I'm definitely not all that patient though. But I'd rather not be a Slytherin, as much as Mum seems to think I could be. What about you?"

"I—" Ayla let out a breath, both amused and overwhelmed at the girl's verbal diarrhoea "I don't know. I'll have to wait and see I suppose."

"Well, what house were your parents in?" Dora asked, "Most kids end up in the same house as their parents—well, most of the time."

Ayla hesitated for a moment, looking to the floor as she said simply "I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?" Dora raised an eyebrow, "Surely you asked them?"

"I—I—" Ayla closed her eyes as she tried to think.

"Damn," Dora bit her lip, "I'm sorry. Are they . . . around?"

"No," Ayla said, "I don't know them, I was sort of found when I was younger, I don't remember my parents . . . So, merlin knows what house they were in . . . Euphemia said Slytherin was a good house—She's the woman who looks after me."

"Nice," Dora said, unsure of what else to say suddenly.

"She's not," Ayla laughed, "she's a bit of a bitch."

Dora laughed, causing the other girl to smirk slightly. "Want to play a game?" Dora asked, "To pass the time? I have exploding snap—Dad slipped it into my pocket just before I left, along with some chocolate that I am more than willing to share."

"Sounds good," Ayla nodded with a smile.

The two girls were soon laughing and joking as they played with the exploding cards, Dora almost falling off her seat a few times as she was beaten by the girl. It seemed like hardly any time at all had passed before the girls were quickly changing into their Hogwarts robes, exchanging nervous smiles as they were shuffled along the platform and heading over to the boats. Ayla had to grab Dora by the sleeve of her robes as the girl almost fell overboard getting out of the boat, though with an embarrassed laugh the pink-haired witch soon shook off the incident and all was forgotten when they were stood waiting to enter the Great Hall. Ayla was sure it was the longest period of time she had seen Dora be quiet for, though the most of the room was quiet bar the odd whisper of excitement as they stood in the corridor. As the great doors opened to the hall Ayla couldn't help her involuntary gasp of amazement. The hall was lined with four long tables, each with a large banner over them showing either an eagle, a badger, a lion or a snake each hanging from the high ceilings. Though where the girl expected to see the high stone ceilings of the room there instead was the night sky, as if no ceiling was there at all as it mimicked the clear night outside.

Ayla had almost forgotten where she was as the crowd shuffled forward between the two centre tables up towards the tattered hat. The girl barely listened to the woman in emerald green robes as she addressed the crowd, nor did she take much interest in the words of the tattered hat that opened the split in the seams of its fabric like a wide mouth. She was far too distracted by what was to come. As the names began to be called Ayla could feel the nerves rising in her stomach like a ball of fire. She hadn't cared so much previously about her house, but ever since Dora had mentioned it it suddenly seemed far more important. The idea of being put into the same house as one of her parents was fascinating for her, though she knew she may never find out for sure if it was the case. It was if the girl was snapped out of a deep trance as she heard the woman call "Rowle, Ayla."

She took a steadying breath, schooling her emotions on her features as best as she could as she took what seemed like the longest walk of her life to the empty stool now waiting for her. She tried not to look at the faces staring back at her, closing her eyes as the fabric of the ancient hat fell over her eyes.

 _Hmmm . . ._ a voice filled the girl's ears, shocking her slightly though she gripped onto the sides of the chair _Interesting . . . Very interesting . . . There is certainly loyalty their . . . though with fierce ambition and cunning . . . so like your mother . . ._ Ayla's eyes snapped open, almost forgetting where she was as she went to open her mouth before the voice continued _I know . . ._ "SLYTHERIN!"

The table below the green banner cheered, the light of the room hitting her face as the hat was immediately removed. Ayla didn't move until she felt the gentle push of a hand on her back and she entered reality again. She walked over to her fellow housemates, sitting on the end and smiling as a few of the older children looked to their newest member. She couldn't get the voice of the hat out of her head, staring at it intently as she wondered over its words. Her mother had been a Slytherin. She was in her mother's house. This was the most the girl had ever learned about either of her parents and she was fascinated. The thought was only pulled from her head temporarily as the woman called a familiar name. "Tonks, Nymphadora!"

Ayla looked to the pink-haired girl, a nervous grin on her face as she walked up to the hat. Regardless of the fact Dora had told Ayla her thoughts on Slytherin previously she couldn't help but cross her fingers under the table, secretly hoping that her new friend would be able to join her. She couldn't help it when her smile faded slightly as the hat called "HUFFLEPUFF" and Nymphadora Tonks walked away from her.

"Unsurprising," one of the older children muttered nearby her, the younger girl turning just in time to see their friend rolling her eyes.

"How?" Ayla couldn't help but ask, uncaring as the boy raised an eyebrow at her.

"She's the blood traitors daughter," the girl sighed, "shame of her family really, Andromeda Black. I heard my parents talking about her, it was mentioned at a summer gathering that her half-blood brat would be starting this year—much to Cygnus Black's dismay."

"Oh," Ayla frowned slightly, she had never heard much of other wizarding families growing up.

"But . . ." the boy opposite her frowned, the small group ignoring the sorting as it carried on around them, "you're a pureblood, right? Rowle . . ."

"Yes," Ayla said quickly, "of course."

"Right . . ." He sighed, "I wasn't aware the Rowles had a child starting Hogwarts . . ."

"Well they do," Ayla said promptly, unwilling to discuss the matter further at that moment in time "here I am. Is Dora—Nymphadora so bad then?"

"Only if you don't want to associate with scum," the older girl wrinkled her nose, " . . . Do you associate with scum?"

"No." Ayla shook her head as a knot tightened in her chest, and turned her back on the rest of the sorting. "Of course not."


End file.
